Al Attiyah off to a flying start at Dubai International Baja

BUSINESS | 17 SPORT | 24

China expects 'relatively

stable' yuan

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

One of the landscaped gardens in Katara, with its various seasonal flowers colourfully welcoming visitors. The total area of gardens in Katara is 32,700sqm, containing some 225 trees from different countries and continents. Pic: Qassim Rahmatullah / The Peninsula

Volume 22 | Number 7097 | 2 RiyalsSaturday 11 March 2017 | 12 Jumada II 1438

MEDINA CENTRALEMEDINANA C CENENTRTRALESpecial Lease Offer

4409 5155

Zuma meets

Qatar's FMPRETORIA: President of South Africa Jacob Zuma met here with Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani yesterday, who is currently visiting South Africa.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister conveyed the greetings of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to President Zuma, as well as his wishes of progress and growth to the South African people. In turn, Zuma entrusted the Minister with his greetings and wishes of health and happiness to the Emir and his further wishes of progress and pros-perity to the Qatari people.

The meeting reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and means of boosting and devel-oping them in addition to matters of mutual interest.

Earlier, the Foreign Minister met South African Minister of Inter-nat ional Relat ions and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, during his visit to South Africa.

Concern over counterfeit auto spare partsSanaullah Ataullah The Peninsula

Counterfeit vehicle spare parts, which are exact replicas of original products, in the local market is

giving vehicle owners a hard time buying spare parts. Motor-ists are often being victims to dubious traders who sell fake parts to them under the guise that the spare parts are origi-nal, according to experts.

With the increasing number of vehicles on the roads, spare parts business has become more lucrative. The Peninsula noted that spare parts are avail-able in different standards in local markets, which include, original and genuine — which are manufactured by the orig-inal equipment manufacturer (OEM), and the ‘Tejari’ – non-original products similar to that of OEM but under different brand names. Apart from this, spare parts of varying stand-ards are imported in bulk from neighbouring countries.

“Buying the product from authorised dealers is the only way to ensure genuineness. It is difficult for a consumer to distinguish between original and fake products. Even authorised dealers often find it hard to do so because counter-feiters have become smarter

these days,” an official at the parts section of a leading auto-mobile dealers told The Peninsula.

There is a 10 to 15 percent difference in the cost of spare parts imported from neigh-bouring countries and those sold at the authorised suppli-ers. However, the risk of being cheated is high because imported products do not have the name of local authorised dealers.

“Here, Tejari products are in high demand followed by imported genuine parts avail-able at unauthorised outlets. Original products from author-ised dealers are least favoured due to the cost usually. How-ever, we cannot be sure about the authenticity of these imported products,” said a mechanic.

→ Continued on page 2

Qatar calls for prosecuting war crimes in SyriaNew York

QNA

Qatar has emphasized the importance of continuing efforts with the United

Nations, UN Member States and civil society to ensure the effec-tive implementation of the international, impartial and independent mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those

responsible for the crimes com-mitted in Syria since 2011.

This came in a high-level event organised by the Permanent Missions of the State of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey held at the UN Headquarters in New York under the title "Aleppo: Human-ity Under Siege," during which the audience listened to testimony of three doctors from the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) on the suffering of the besieged

population in eastern Aleppo neighbourhoods.

In a closing speech of the high-level event, Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, the Permanent Repre-sentative of Qatar to the United Nations, said the presence of these physicians and their col-leagues is important to shed light on the true scale of the suffering and crimes committed against the defenceless population of

besieged areas in Syria, which remain inaccessible.

The east of Aleppo was the scene of countless crimes against civilians as described in several United Nations reports, she said, adding that people in eastern Aleppo were not only subjected to indiscriminate attacks but they also the "war crime of forced displacement," which should investigated.

→ Continued on page 2

President of South Africa

Jacob Zuma met Foreign Minister

H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman

Al Thani who is currently visiting

South Africa.

Hotel groups call for easier visa policies to boost tourismRaynald C Rivera The Peninsula

While hotels have lauded the recent announce-ment by the Qatari

government to boost private sector investment on tourism by granting permission for five-star and four-star hotels to issue tourist visas, they have also called to improve the current tourist visa policies and procedures.

The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khal-ifa Al Thani recently announced a series of new measures to boost private sector investment, especially in tourism, including a permission for five-star and four-star hotels to issue tourist visas.

“Granting this is a great ini-tiative that is not only beneficial to Qatar as a developing coun-try, but to Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Pearl - Doha too. The visa will allow us to bring in more traffic, adding to the professional workforce as well as continuing to highlight Doha as an upcoming city long

before the Soccer World Cup,” Wissam Suleiman, Cluster Gen-eral Manager, at Marsa Malaz Kempinski - The Pearl Doha and Kempinski Residences & Suites Doha, told The Peninsula.

Suleiman added: “The ease of travel is increasingly impor-tant to the region, and this initiative will ensure that Qatar is regarded as more than just a layover or stopover by our pro-spective clientele. By making it easier to visit our nation, we expect that world travellers will soon regard Qatar as a world class destination.”

Joey Chen, General Manager, Holiday Villa Hotel & Residence, hopes the government focus on challenges being faced by hotels with regard to policies and pro-cedures. “Since the government

is finding ways to increase tour-ism in the country, the management is hoping that they would be able to improve on the current policies and procedures to address the challenges that the hotels are currently facing such as the processing time and reasons for denied application,” said Chen.

He added: “As we aim to aid the country boost its tourism industry, a well-improved tour-ist visa policy has the potential to help widen the scope of visit-ing countries and can become a tourist-friendly destination. The idea of giving hassle-free tour-ist visa will possibly further put Qatar as a must-visit country in the Middle East," said Chen.

During a meeting with rep-resentatives of the private sector and businessmen in the pres-ence of several ministers and representatives of the govern-ment sector in the Committee for Promoting Business and Investment Environment, the Premier also issued directives to respond to hotels' requests for working visas to cover their needs of staff in the tourism sector.

Drivers at risk

The sale of fake spare parts not only hits the business of authorised dealers directly, it also puts drivers and other road users at risk.

It also impacts the vehicle's performance and safety.

Scattered rains forecast todayHuda NV The Peninsula

Scattered rains are expected in some parts of the coun-try today, whi le

temperature is expected to increase by a few degrees over the next few days. More rains are expected from March 17, the weather bureau said.

Latest weather charts shows that the weather will become gradually cloudy today with a chance of scattered light rain. The weather is expected to be hazy to misty during the early hours with low visibility, becoming milder by day.

Today, Doha, Messaieed, Al Wakrah and Al Khor would have a maximum temperature of 26

degrees Celsius, while Ruwais, Dukhan and Abu Samrah would have maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. Minimum temperature would be 19 degrees Celsius in Doha and Ruwais, while in Dukhan and Abu Samrah it would be 18 degrees Celsius. Messaieed, Al Wakrah and Al Khor would have 15 degrees Celsius.

"The idea of giving hassle-free tourist visa will possibly further put Qatar as a must-visit country in the Middle East."

Blooming Katara

02 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017HOME

Emir sendscondolencesto Saudi KingQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent yesterday a cable

of condolences to the Cus-todian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the death of the mother of Prince Nawaf bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani have also sent yesterday condo-lences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the death of the mother of Prince Nawaf bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Continued from Page 1With counterfeit products

appearing more like OEM prod-ucts, the only way to identify real products is the logo of the local dealer. The sale of fake spare parts not only hits the business of authorised dealers, but also puts lives of drivers and other road users at risk. It also impacts the vehicle's perform-ance and safety.

“Most running spare parts like brake pads, shoes, filters, clutch plates, discs, engine oil, gear oil, transmission fluid are being faked and marketed. Fake spare parts like brake pads can cause fatal road accidents. Many other parts like filters may cause fire and explosion in vehicles,” said the official at the automo-bile dealers .

“We advise consumers to

always look for original auto spare parts and buy directly from our outlets or our desig-nated dealers and never compromise safety by buying cheaper fake products,” said the official.

“Many have taken it for granted that spare parts are cheaper outside compared to authorised dealers. Recently, I was looking for a part —torque converter - for the milometer of my car. I ran from pillar to post to get a tejari but failed. Finally, I found one with a scrap dealer for QR100 but unfortunately it did not fit. Then I was left with no option but to go to an author-ised dealer, where I got it done for QR55 within 15 minutes, sav-ing my time and money,” said a motorist.

“Spare parts are available

cheaper and at competitive prices in neighbouring countries due to different factors. There-fore many of us prefer to import genuine parts and couterfeits from there,” the manager of spare part shop said.

“Trading in fake products is illegal but it cannot be ruled out as the fraudulent practice is eve-rywhere. The customers need to be more cautious,” he said.

“I took the quotation for a spare part — the upper arm for a mini-bus from its authorised dealer at QR525 and after dis-count for QR450. The same product with the mark of gen-uine part imported from a neighbouring county is availa-ble for QR350 at a shop. However, the price of counter-part parts of this product is QR250,”a mechanic said.

QNA

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali has said

that the Ministry supports thea-tre in Qatar academically and financially to achieve the vision of creating an authentic society with authentic mind and fit body.

Asked by QNA during his visit to Al Ghad drama band if the Ministry was planning to cancel the academic theatre program at Community College, the Min-ister said it was unlikely, adding that he asked for a detailed report on the programme, its usefulness and how those who attend it benefit the theatre movement so as not to become a mere certificate to get a job without real benefit for theater renaissance.

Al Ali said the country

supports theater and all arts because of their role in promot-ing human intellect and amending wrong behaviours in society, calling on theatre pro-fessionals to restore the spirit of Qatari theatre that had adopted community issues in the past, noting that freedom is guaran-teed for all kinds of creativity.

The Minister spoke about a number of issues the society is fac-ing, including divorce and dealing with autist children, and called on theatre practitioners to address them. Al Ali also suggested a mobile theater, especially during the camping season where thea-tre can go to the crowd, highlighting the importance of attracting Qatari youth to the dif-ferent phases of theatre work.

The minister reiterated the increase in financial support to participants in Doha Theatre

Festival, which will take place in April and May, from QR 120,000 to QR600,000, noting that

competitiveness will rise among the four theatre bands after his visit to them. He also promised

to continue to meet with theatre bands every three months to dis-cuss their issues.

HMC holds walkathon to create kidney awarenessFazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Hamad Medical Cor-poration (HMC) held a walkathon at Katara, the Cultural Village, yesterday

as part of the World Kidney Day (WKD), which was observed on Thursday under the theme ‘Kid-ney Disease – A Healthy Lifestyle for Healthy Kidneys’.

The half an hour walkathon was led by Dr Hassan Al Malki, Head of Nephrology Department at HMC, and was aimed at increas-ing awareness about the impact obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary choices can have on kidneys. Students from schools, universities, healthcare providers and the public took part in the walkathon.

Also, several educational activities took place at Katara that highlighted the importance of an active lifestyle in maintain-ing kidney health. The HMC Ambulance Service held dem-onstrations on first aid and

lifesaving techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“The World Kidney Day is very important for the whole world. It highlights the impor-tance of kidney health and how people should care for their kid-neys. So we always try to prevent before the disease develops,” said Dr Abubakr Imam, Head Pediatric Nephrology at HMC.

Kidney disease can affect people of any age and gender

and is more likely to develop in obese people including those with diabetes and hypertension. “This year, the concentration is on obesity and kidney diseases; it applies to children, adolescents and the adults. Kidney disease is

associated with diabetes, as well as other diseases like hyperten-sion but there is a big relationship between obesity and the health of the person, especially the kid-neys. We advise people to adopt a healthy lifestyle to prevent con-

sequences,” said Dr Imam. “There are two aspects to

kidney diseases and obesity. One is that obesity can cause kidney diseases, and those who are hav-ing kidney problems their condition becomes worse if they

are obsese. We get many patients who come to us with obesity, hypertension and kidney dis-eases,” he added.

Informative pamphlets were distributed to the visitors and there was free screening for dia-betes and hypertension.

“If we find anyone with high blood sugar or pressure levels, we refer them for a follow-up check to find out if it was a ran-dom increase or substantial one. But if the numbers are very high and unusual, we directly take care of them at HMC,” said Dr Imam. Around 10 percent of the world’s population is affected by chronic kidney diseases and it is estimated that the disease affects 13 percent of Qatar’s population.

Some 200 new cases of kid-ney diseases are reported each year at HMC and nearly 1,000 patients with kidney diseases are on dialysis and another 140 are on waiting list for transplant. Separately, around 10 children are in need of dialysis or a transplant.

World Kidney Day

World Kidney Day (WKD) observed under the theme ‘Kidney Disease – A Healthy Lifestyle for Healthy Kidneys’.

Several educational activities held at Katara Cultural Village to mark the event.

Huda N VThe Peninsula

A lack of social representa-tion and inability to find space to showcase the

real Islam is promoting Islam-ophobia in European countries. Muslims worldwide should come together overcoming bar-riers of culture and nations for world peace, according to an Italian writer and researcher.

“Islamophobia has not reached its peak in Europe as the media usually portrays. However, things can change any moment. The main reason for this is due to the incapacity of Muslims there to find public space," one of the emerging Western Muslim scholars and cultural activists, Dr Sabrina Lei (pictured), told The Peninsula.

“There is a dire lack of insti-tutions and socio-political representation of Muslims in Europe. This is one reason that promotes Islamophobia. If Euro-pean Muslims do not utilise chances to come forward, the future generations may feel the pressure,” said the Director of Tawasul Italy, a centre for research and interfaith dialogue, who was in Qatar recently.

According to her, most of the anti-Muslim atrocities in Europe are singular and done by minor-ity groups. However, these groups aim to provoke Muslims

to get the reaction they want.“We should be smart enough

not to react. People in the West are not interested in piety issues, and when there is widespread violence in the name of, for exam-ple, a cartoon, people look into these issues and thus get a wrong image of Islam. One thing Mus-lims should understand is that these minority groups just want another proof to picture Muslims as a violent, narrowminded group that cannot take in critics. It is bet-ter to leave these issues untouched,” she said.

However, a Muslim should always be in action in a situation where an individual’s life and livelihood is in question, she said.

“In the west, Islam is actually invisible, and it is seen as an intruder. It is pictured as a nega-tion of all western values. This has, in a long run, become the main discourse and now if Mus-lims let things go further, they won’t be able show the real Islam.

Dr Lei, through her institute, is working with various inter-national and government agencies to represent Islam in the Western society.

“We are not looking at preaching Islam, but represent-ing Islam as a civilization. We want to show Muslims in a multi-cultural society. Our aim is not to make Islam or Muslims ‘tolerated’ but to be part of the society. We should try to present Islam as a way of life which can be approached by people from different nationalities and back-grounds,” she stressed.

Through her works, she showcases the philosophical and historical aspects of Islam. Her most recent book “Reflection on Islam”, exhibits Islam in the West from a Muslim point of view to make western readers under-stand Islam in a better way.

Meanwhile, she also stressed that leaders in the Arab world should support Islamic institu-tions in the West in their venture to showcase Islam as a religion of peace. “The leaders in the Arab world should help to integrate Islam into the mainstream soci-ety. They should understand that we are one community, though we belong to different nationali-ties. We should go way beyond the cultural and national barriers and strengthen each other in the interest of not only Muslims, but also the world peace,” she said.

Envoy stresses need for political solutionContinued from Page 1

Such atrocities were the reason for the establishment of an independent and impartial international mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsi-ble for the crimes committed in Syria since 2011 adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, she said.

The Ambassador warned against impunity, which has contributed to the systematic

escalation of violence and atrocities, stressing the impor-tance and necessity of starting a campaign to prevent the recurrence of similar atrocities on any scale. She reiterated the need to reach a political solu-tion to the crisis in Syria to end the bloodshed on the basis of the Geneva communique and Security Council Resolution 2254 to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.

Meanwhile, Qatar also par-ticipated in a meeting in The Hague of senior officials to dis-cuss how to ensure accountability for serious crimes committed in Syria.

The meeting was called by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders in order to follow up the implementa-tion of the UN General Assembly Resolution No. 71/248, which was an initiative by Qatar and Liechtenstein.

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali with other officials.

Qatar supports theatreactivities: Culture Minister

World Kidney Day activities held at Katara yesterday. Pic: Qassim Rahmatullah / The Peninsula

'Inability to showcase true religioncausing Islamophobia in West'

Motorists urged to buy from dealers

03SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Kremlin in Moscow, yesterday. The talks focused on Syria, where Russia and Turkey have launched a joint mediation effort and coordinated their military action against the Islamic State group.

Erdogan meets Putin

Iraq forces advance as IS weakens in MosulMosul

AFP

Iraqi special forces battling the Islamic State group on Friday pushed deeper into west Mosul, where a com-mander said jihadist

resistance is showing signs of weakening under repeated assaults.

The jihadists are also facing simultaneous offensives in Syria by government forces, Turkish-backed rebels and a US-supported alliance of Kurd-ish and Arab fighters, piling more pressure on IS.

But the battle for Mosul's Old City — which could see some of the toughest fighting of the oper-ation — has not yet begun, nor has fighting inside the city of Raqa, IS's main bastion in Syria.

Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service attacked the Al-Amil al-Oula neighbourhood of west Mosul early yesterday, and were battling the jihadists inside it, said Staff Major General Maan

al-Saadi, a CTS commander.Iraq's Joint Operations Com-

mand later announced that CTS had retaken that area along with another neighbourhood, Al-Amil al-Thaniyah.

Saadi said that following a string of losses since the launch of the government's assault on west Mosul on February 19, IS resistance had diminished. "After we broke the (first) defensive

line, they lost many fighters," he said. "The enemy has begun to collapse. They have lost many of their combat capabilities. Today, the enemy sent (suicide car bombs), but not in the numbers that they sent at the beginning of the battle."

In another sign that the jihadists are feeling the squeeze, their chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was reported to have abandoned Mosul, leaving local command-ers behind to oversee defence of the city.

Iraqi forces launched their operation to retake Mosul in October, and recaptured the whole east bank of the Tigris River that runs through it in Jan-uary. They then set their sights on the smaller but more densely populated west side of the city.

More than 215,000 people are displaced as a result of the battle for Mosul, according to the International Organization for Migration. Others fled their homes but later returned.

Almost a quarter of the

displaced — more than 50,000 people — have fled west Mosul since February 25, the IOM said.

But that is only a small frac-tion of the 750,000 civilians estimated to have stayed on in west Mosul under IS rule.

In neighbouring Syria, the jihadists lost more ground to a Russian-backed offensive by government forces east of sec-ond city Aleppo.

Russian warplanes and

regime aircraft and artillery pounded IS positions around Jar-rah airbase, held by the jihadists since January 2014.

Russia's military said yester-day that it had carried out more than 450 air strikes in support of the offensive over the past week, killing more than 600 IS fight-ers, and destroying 16 infantry fighting vehicles and 41 machine-gun-mounted pickups . Washington too has turned up

the heat on IS in Syria, more than doubling its troop numbers in the country with the deployment of 400 reinforcements to back the offensive on Raqa.

Around 500 US military advisers were already deployed alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters that Washing-ton regards as the force best equipped to drive IS from its stronghold.

A displaced Iraqi man carries his children as he flees his home, while Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, yesterday.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari (centre), returning from London, is welcomed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, yesterday.

Buhari returns home after medical leaveAbuja

AFP

President Muhammadu Buhari yes-terday returned to Nigeria after nearly two months' medical leave

in Britain but said his deputy would remain in charge for several days as he needed more rest.

A Nigerian Air Force jet carrying the 74-year-old landed at the airport in the northern city of Kaduna at about 7:40 am (0640 GMT). He was then flown by helicopter to Abuja. In the capital, the head of state, looking gaunt in a billow-ing black kaftan, stepped off the helicopter and walked across the tar-mac to be greeted by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

He also met security chiefs and sen-ior government officials before being driven away in a black official car to meet ministers and officials of his

ruling All Progressives Congress party. At the meeting, he did not give any indi-cation of what illness he was suffering from but said "I have received, I think, the best of treatment I could receive.

"I couldn't recall being so sick since I was a young man," he added, referring to "blood transfusions, going to the lab-oratories and so on and so forth".

But he said he was "pleased to be back", although he disclosed that he may need "further follow-up within some weeks".

Buhari's return from London was announced on Thursday evening and he said he "came back towards the week-end, so that the Vice-President will continue and I will continue to rest".

The President's spokesman Femi Adesina later clarified that Buhari would not resume his duties at least over the weekend but would formalise his return to power next week.

DAKAR: Mauritania's state-run news agency says a newly formed extremist group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on a Mali mil-itary base that killed at least 17 soldiers.

The SITE Intelligence Group says the news agency reported yesterday the claim by Mali-based Nusrat Al Islam wal Muslimeen. The report says the group claims dozens were wounded in the attack on Boulikessi base near the border with Burkina Faso.

Extremist violence has been mounting over the past year along the Mali-Burkina Faso border.

The newly formed extremist group merges Ansar Dine, al-Mourabitoun and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The groups already had been staging joint attacks, causing insecurity not only in Mali but in neighboring West African countries.

South African taxi drivers hold airport protest against UberJohannesburg

AP

South African taxi drivers yesterday blocked roads around Johannes-burg's main international airport to

protest against ride-hailing company Uber, causing some passengers to miss their flights.

The protest by drivers with metered cabs, who say Uber unfairly siphons busi-ness from them, caused morning traffic jams on two highways near O R Tambo International Airport. Police later cleared the roads.

The impact of the blockade will con-tinue "to be felt throughout the day due

to earlier delays, particularly on flights t h a t n e e d t o r e t u r n

to O R Tambo International Airport," Airports Company South Africa, which manages the airport, said in a state-ment. "Airlines have informed the airport that passengers that missed flights in the morning are being accommodated on other flights."

South African Airways urged passengers to arrive at the airport earlier than usual, even if they planned to fly later in the day. In a statement, Uber said many

South African drivers with metered taxis

are also picking up customers with its ride-hailing app. "Our technology is open and pro-choice and we are keen to offer it to a broad number of taxi drivers to boost their chances for profit," said Uber, adding that threats and intimidation toward Uber drivers are unacceptable.

Meanwhile, some Uber drivers pro-tested outside the company's Johannesburg office yesterday, local media reported. That group of protesters reportedly said Uber does not do enough to address their safety concerns.

Taxi drivers in some other countries also have protested, sometimes violently, against Uber because of concerns over allegedly unfair competition.

Niger puts Boko Haram men on trialNiamey

AFP

Niger has begun the trials behind closed doors of about 1,000 sus-pected fighters from the Boko

Haram movement, officials said yester-day. Chief prosecutor Chaibou Samna said that the trials, on charges of terror-ist links, had begun on March 2.

Those facing trial are from several countries including Niger and Mali, Samna said, as well as neighbouring Nigeria where Boko Haram's deadly insurgency began in 2009 before spreading abroad.

Some of the suspects were "captured dur-ing combat" in southern Niger across the border from Boko Haram's stronghold in Nigeria, a security source said.

Samna said the trials will last several months and mostly arise from offences entailing "not more than 10 years in prison". "There have already been con-victions and a large number of people freed for lack of evidence," he added.

"The government has provided the means to transport prosecutors to inves-tigate on the ground" in the Diffa region, close to territory in northeast Nigeria fun-damentalist movement, Samna said.

ANKARA: The Turkish mili-tary said yesterday 71 members of a Kurdish militia had been killed in Syria in the last week in what appeared to mark an escalation of clashes with the US-backed YPG group vying for control of areas along Tur-key's border.

Clashes between Turkish-backed forces and the YPG militia, both allies of the United States in fighting Islamic State, threaten to hamper US efforts to forge a coalition to seize the mili-tants' stronghold of Raqqa.

Turkey is alarmed Wash-ington is veering towards a tie-up with YPG in operations to seize Raqqa, to the exclu-sion of its forces.

Washington says it is tak-ing steps to avoid conflict between Turkish forces and YPG, which Ankara deems terrorist for its links with PKK Kurds fighting on Turk-ish soil.

The United States and the European Union also regard the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist group.

Tough war

Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service attacked the Al-Amil al-Oula neighbourhood of west Mosul early yesterday, and were battling the jihadists inside it.

More than 215,000 people are displaced as a result of the battle for Mosul.

Mali extremists claim attack on military base

71 Kurd fighters dead in Syria in last week

Private security guard stand outside Uber offices in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg, yesterday.

04 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017ASIA

South Korea President removed from officeSeoul

Reuters

South Korea's Constitu-tional Court upheld the impeachment of Presi-dent Park Geun-hye yesterday, removing her

from office over a graft scandal involving big business that has gripped the country for months.

Park becomes South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be forced from office.

"A presidential election will be held in 60 days," according to the constitution.

"We remove Park Geun-hye

from office," Lee Jung-mi, act-ing president of the court, told the hearing. "Her actions betrayed the people's confidence. They are a grave violation of law which cannot be tolerated."

The ruling to uphold parlia-ment's December 9 vote to impeach Park over an influence-peddling scandal is the most dramatic twist in a political cri-sis that has gripped the country for months.

The political crisis has come at a time when rival North Korea is pushing ahead with its missile programme and tension is brew-ing with China over a US

missile-defence system being deployed in South Korea.

The Seoul market's bench-mark KOSPI index rose after the ruling.

"As the saga is coming to an end, markets will be relieved that South Korea finally can push for-ward to press ahead with electing new leadership," said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist at Natixis in Hong Kong.

"And the hope is that this will allow the country to have a new leader that can address long-standing challenges such as labour market reforms and esca-lated geopolitical tensions."

Park, 65, was been accused of colluding with a friend, Choi

Soon-sil, and a former presiden-tial aide, both of whom have been on trial, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.

She was also accused of soliciting bribes from the head of the Samsung Group for gov-ernment favours.

Park has denied any wrongdoing.

Hundreds of demonstrators, both for and against Park, have gathered at the courthouse, which was blockaded by police buses.

Prosecutors have named Park, who now loses her presi-dential immunity from prosecution, as an accomplice in two court cases linked to the scandal, suggesting she is likely to be investigated and could face

legal proceedings.Park was stripped of her

powers after parliament voted to impeach her but has remained in the president's official com-pound, the Blue House.

She did not appear in court yesterday.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was appointed acting president and will remain in that post until the election.

Kuala Lumpur AFP

Malaysia's police chief yes-terday confirmed that the man assassinated at

Kuala Lumpur's international airport last month was Kim Jong-Nam, half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un.

"We've now established that Kim Chol is Kim Jong-Nam," Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar said, but he declined to give details of how the body's identity was confirmed.

"For the security of the

witnesses so I'm not going to tell you how it was done," he said.

Malaysian authorities had earlier declined to officially con-firm the victim's identity or release his body, saying they needed a DNA sample from next-of-kin.

The 45-year-old was carry-ing a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked on February 13 with the lethal nerve agent VX by two women.

His wife and children, who were living in exile in the Chi-nese territory of Macau, have

since gone into hiding over fears that his 21-year-old son, Kim Han-Sol, could be seen as a potential rival by his uncle Kim Jong-Un in a country roiled by bloody purges.

North Korea has never con-firmed the identity of the dead man, but has denounced the Malaysian investigation as an attempt to smear the secretive regime, insisting that he most likely died of a heart attack.

Expelled North Korean ambassador Kang Chol slammed what he called a "pre-targeted investigation by the Malaysian

police" on Monday, just before leaving the country.

Pyongyang retaliated by for-mally expelling his Malaysian counterpart.

Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday urged Malaysians to pray for the safe return of nine compatriots barred from leav-ing North Korea.

Three Malaysian embassy staff and six family members remain stuck in Pyongyang after North Korea barred Malaysians from leaving the country on Tuesday, prompting a tit-for-tat move by Malaysia.

Hanoi

Reuters

Vietnam's prime minister says he is ready to visit the United States to pro-

mote ties between the two countries and work with Presi-dent Donald Trump's new administration, particularly over trade.

Vietnam had been one of the top potential beneficiaries of the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement canceled by Trump, but it has also been building links to the United States amid a maritime dispute with China.

"Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that he is

ready to visit US to promote Vietnam-US tie," the Vietnam-ese government said on its official Facebook page yesterday.

Phuc also expressed his wish that the United States continues to be Vietnam's leading trade partner.

The former prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited the United States in February 2016 to attend a US-ASEAN summit, but the last official state visit was in 2008.

In a telephone call shortly after his election last year, Trump told Phuc he wanted to further strengthen fast-warm-ing ties between the two countries.

Vietnam advanced ties with the United States to a new level under former US President Barack Obama, keen on the United States maintaining its security presence in Asia in the face of territorial claims by neighbouring China.

China claims most of the South China Sea, while Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philip-pines and Brunei claim parts of the sea that commands strate-gic sea lanes and has rich fishing grounds along with oil and gas deposits.

Washington lifted a US lethal arms embargo on Vietnam last May, allowing closer defense links and some joint military exercises.

Nakhon Pathom

AFP

Aided by a jazz soundtrack, Thai artisans work against the clock scratch-

ing, moulding and shaping the intricate clay sculptures that will adorn the funeral pyre of Thai-land's revered former king Bhumibol Adulaydej.

The sculptures, of animals, gods and mythical creatures, will decorate the spectacular 50 metre pyre that is set to provide a final stage for Bhumibol, who died last October.

The exact date of his funeral

is not yet known, with Bhumi-bol's heir, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, to decide on an auspicious time.

Thailand plunged into intense mourning for the passing Bhumi-bol, a monarch who strode over 70 years of Thai history.

At a cavernous studio an hour outside Bangkok dozens of artisans are making the huge, life-like sculptures which will stud the pyre, which is being built in Bangkok's historic heart.

"It is the work of a lifetime," said team leader Pitak Chalerm-lao, an expert from the Fine Arts Department.

"I feel great that I can do this for him (Bhumibol). All of the artisans here are working with love and pride... we are doing it for our father," he said, adding volunteers have boosted the ranks of the trained artisans.

Resin moulds will be made from the finished clay sculptures.

The works, two to four metres-high, include the Hindu god Brahma, elephants, lions and a towering Garuda -- a half-bird, half-human creature of Hindu and Buddhist lore which will carry Bhumibol's spirit to Mount Meru.

Thailand temple search ends without finding monkBangkok

Reuters

THAI police ended their search of Thailand's biggest temple yesterday after laying siege to it for more than three weeks without finding the former abbot, who is wanted for sus-pected money-laundering.

The standoff at the Dhammakaya temple between thousands of police and saffron-robed monks has posed one of the greatest challenges to the military government since it took power in 2014 and largely neutralised opposition.

Paisit Wongmuang, direc-tor-general of the police Department of Special Inves-tigation, said after another day of searching yesterday that the authorities would still try to track down Phra Dham-machayo. But restrictions on the temple area would be lifted "when everything returns to normal".

The government used the emergency law Article 44 to allow police to enter the temple.

"We are glad there is a sign of peaceful resolution but cannot rest assured until Arti-cle 44 is revoked," senior monk Phra Pasura Danta-mano said.

Malaysia confirms Kin Jong-Nam identity

Vietnam PM ready to work with Trump

Downfall

We remove Park Geun-hye from office. Her actions betrayed the people's confidence. They are a grave violation of law which cannot be tolerated: Lee Jung-mi

Hundreds of demonstrators, both for and against Park, have gathered at the courthouse, which was blockaded by police buses.

South Korean acting Constitutional Court's Chief Judge Lee Jung-mi (centre) and seven judges during final ruling of President Park Geun-hye's impeachment at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, yesterday.

Anti-government activists celebrate with placards reading "Park Geun-Hye go to prison!" after the announcement of the Constitutional Court's decision to uphold the impeachment of South Korea's president.

Thai artisans craft for the late king's funeral

Thai sculpture artists work on figures that will serve as a mold where images just like it will be made to decorate the spectacular 50 metre wooden pyre that is set to provide a final stage for late king Bhumibol Adulaydej.

King Kong model catches fire at Vietnam premiereHo Chi Minh City

AFP

Film buffs with the hot-test ticket in town were left running for safety

after a giant model of King Kong went up in flames at the sizzling Vietnam premiere of the rebooted horror classic.

The blaze began as a glamorous announcer wel-comed communist party officials, diplomats and celeb-rities to the screening of 'Kong: Skull Island' in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night.

But the razz-matazz soon gave away to farce as a blaze -- apparently started by a torch discarded by a fire dancer -- consumed the over-

sized primate in minutes.The fire tore through the

five-metre high model, send-ing film-goers scurrying for cover as flames burned demon-like through King Kong's eyes.

The only injuries caused by the fire were to the model of the giant ape -- and the pride of event organisers, as video of the fiasco went viral.

"Due to a mistake from one of the (fire) dancers, part of the stage caught fire and spread to all of the decora-tions," according to a statement by Vietsin Com-m e r c i a l C o m p l e x Development.

The fire was extinguished after five minutes.

A firefighter truck injecting water to control a fire on a giant model of King Kong during the premiere of the "Kong: Skull Island" in Ho Chi Minh City.

05SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 ASIA

Punishment

Japan troops to end South Sudan missionTokyo

Reuters

Japan's Self Defence Force will withdraw from the United Nations peacekeep-ing mission in South Sudan when its troops return home

around the end of May, closing a controversial episode in the prime minister's push to expand the military's overseas role.

The primary task of Japan's 350-strong military contingent, based in Juba for the past five years, has been to build infra-structure in the war-torn country.

Oil-rich South Sudan has torn by civil war since 2013, when President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fired his deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

Fighting since has increas-ingly fractured the world's youngest country along ethnic lines, leading the United Nations to warn of the risk of genocide.

"As South Sudan’s

country-building is entering a new phase, we can draw a line under the activities of the self-defence forces," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, yesterday.

"Japan would continue pro-viding development aid, however," he added.

The withdrawal will ease political pressure on Abe, who had vowed to resign if any

troops were killed, as his sup-port amongst voters erodes after his wife was linked to a school accused of involvement in a murky land deal.

The end of the mission will also help Defence Minister Tom-omi Inada, who rejected opposition calls to resign because she refused to describe the conflict as "fighting."

Doing so would have forced Abe's government to evacuate the troops, because a halt to fighting in the area is a condi-tion for the SDF to participate in UN peacekeeping missions.

In a move that stoked con-troversy in Japan, the contingent was allowed, from November, to mount rescue missions and escort United Nations staff and personnel of non-government bodies (NGO).

That was in line with a 2015 security law pushed by Abe that expanded the SDF's overseas role, a change critics say has weakened Japan's war-renouncing constitution.

Nine men with bomb-making materials held in IndonesiaTuban

Anatolia

INDONESIAN police arrested yesterday nine suspected militants accused of plotting attacks on officers.

A police spokesman in the Central Sulawesi prov-ince, where an IS-linked militant group has a hideout, said that six of the suspects were captured in the Tolitoli Regency.

"We still deepen the investigation," Hari Suprapto said without providing fur-ther details.

According to national police spokesman Rikwanto, who like many Indonesians uses one name, another three suspects were arrested in Parigi Regency in the same province.

"They were planning to damage the police station and other vital objects in the region of Central Sulawesi," he was quoted as saying by kompas.com.

"We are still investigating to know the other members of this group," Rikwanto said, adding that other alleged tar-gets included officers guarding a bank.

During the arrests yester-day, police reportedly seized some explosive-making materials including fertiliz-ers, sulfur and nails.

Islamabad

Internews

The National Assembly (the lower house) of Pakistan yesterday unanimously

adopted the Hindu Marriage Bill, 2017, and with it the proc-ess of legislation for a personal law for the country’s Hindu community has now come to an end.

The bill was approved by the Senate in February this year with an amendment. It has now been approved with the inclu-sion of Shadi Parath .

The Shadi Parath, titled as ‘Schedule A’ in the bill, will require to be signed by a pun-dit and will be registered with the relevant government department.

The simple document has

eight columns starting with the date of marriage and followed by name of the union council, tehsil, town and district.

The document has columns for the particulars of the bride-groom - his name and father’s name (along with their CNIC numbers), date of birth, date and place where the marriage is solemnised, temporary address, etc. It also contains the matrimonial status single, mar-ried divorced widower and number of dependents.

Similar details are required for the bride, except for one change. Her mother’s name has also to be written in the document.

Both the bride and the groom have to sign the docu-ment along with one witness and the registrar.

Australia bans foreign political donationsCanberra

AP

WITH concerns over Chi-nese political influence in Australia and Russian inter-ference in the US presidential election, an Australian parlia-mentary committee yesterday recommended a ban on polit-ical donations from foreign any companies and individ-uals.

Unlike the US and many other countries that ban for-eign donations, Australian law has never distinguished between donors from Aus-tralia and overseas.

But the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Mat-ters recommended a ban on foreign donations to regis-tered political parties and associated entities.

"It is a matter of national sovereignty that only Austral-ians should have the power to influence Australian poli-tics and elections," said committee chair Linda Reynolds.

The opposition rejected the committee's recommen-dation that the ban should also apply to environmental and activist groups involved in politics.

Kazakhstan reduces presidential powersAstana

AFP

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev yesterday signed off on

constitutional changes limiting the powers of his office, though he is expected to retain supreme authority in the Central Asian country.

Nazarbayev's press service confirmed that the changes had

been signed into law after a judi-cial review and parliamentary approval this week.

"The head of state has signed the law 'On amendments and additions to the constitution of Kazakhstan'," the presidential press service said on its Twitter account.

Among the changes is the ability for parliament to hold government members to greater account through votes of no

confidence that the president can no longer override.

The government, in turn, will gain an expanded mandate to make and revise policies with-out checks from the powerful presidency, which will also shed its authority to issue legally binding decrees.

After the death of the strong-man Islam Karimov in neighbouring Uzbekistan last year, Nazarbayev is the only

living leader in the former Soviet Union that began his rule before the bloc's collapse.

Analysts have said the con-stitutional changes will mean little as long as the oil-rich coun-try's cabinet and parliament are stuffed with Nazarbayev loyalists.

Last week, a female law-maker in Nur Otan party called for renaming Astana, and its air-port in honour of the leader.

Pakistan may legalise military trialsIslamabad

AP

Pakistan's parliament is set to debate a bill next week that would legalise trials

before military courts for another two years, a measure human rights activists say negates the basic principles of justice and denies those on trial the chance for a fair defence.

The bill, designed to com-bat terrorism, was presented before the lower house of par-liament yesterday by law minister Zahid Hamid (pictured).

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government was expected to fast-track the draft before lawmakers amid indi-cations the National Assembly — the lower house of parlia-ment — would unanimously back the constitutional amendment.

All parties except for slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhut-to's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) agreed on the govern-ment proposed draft.

A member of the PPP, the main opposition party, said her

party had suggestions that should be incorporated in the draft. Azra Fazal said the bill was not acceptable unless debated and improved.

The session was adjourned until Monday when the debate would take place.

The proposed amendment authorises the military to try any suspect on terrorism-related charges.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan, adviser to the prime minister on law and human rights, said there was a consensus between all the political par-ties that under extraordinary circumstances "we have to set military courts."

But, he said, there are

some small differences on cer-tain points.

A similar amendment was adopted in 2015, allowing mil-itary courts to carry out trials of suspected militants under a two-year mandate, which expired in January.

That measure came after a December 2014 Taliban attack at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, which killed 154 people, mostly schoolchil-dren. The assault also prompted Pakistan to lift its moratorium on the death penalty. Since then, more than 400 convicts have been executed, though most were not linked to terror-ism-related cases.

Along with military trials, Pakistani forces have carried out several military operations against militants in lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, including a major push that began in mid-2014 in North Waziristan, a militant base.

Militants in Pakistan have killed tens of thousands of people over the years, seeking to overthrow the government and install their own brand of Islamic law.

Daily life

A vendor prepares chickpea soup as he waits for the customers at his roadside stall near the Shuhada Lake, in Kabul, yesterday.

Japan & US conduct drill in E China Sea

Peacekeeping

As South Sudan’s country-building is entering a new phase, we can draw a line under the activities of the self-defence forces: Abe

The withdrawal will ease political pressure on Abe, who had vowed to resign if any troops were killed.

Tokyo

AFP

The US and Japanese navies said yesterday they com-pleted a four-day joint

exercise in the East China Sea, as tension intensifies in the region following North Korea's missile tests.

The training, characterised by Japanese media essentially as a show-of-force exercise, coincided with renewed ten-sions in the region after North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches earlier this week.

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and the guided missile destroyer USS Wayne E Meyer from the US Navy joined the Jap-anese destroyers Sazanami and

Samidare in the East China Sea to "increase proficiency in basic maritime skills and improve response capabilities," the US Navy said in a statement.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, the country's navy, said in a separate state-ment that the exercises focused on "tactical training".

But Japan's conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper said the drill was aimed at issuing a warning against nuclear-armed North Korea by "exhibiting the strength and deterrent power of the Japan-US alliance."

"The Japan-US training was also meant to display their joint presence in the East China Sea, where Japan and China are locked in a long-running dispute

over uninhabited islets," the Sankei said.

In Japan, they are known as the Senkakus, while China claims then as the Diaoyus.

Successive US administra-tions have assured Japan that the islands fall under their secu-rity treaty, meaning if they are attacked the US will defend them.

"The Carl Vinson was expected to join the South Korea-US drills after the exer-cise with Japan," the Sankei said.

The two sets of exercises come as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to visit South Korea, Japan and China next week for his first trip to the region since he became President Don-ald Trump's top diplomat.

Pakistan House adopts Hindu Marriage Bill 2017

A police officer supervising detained bewildered drunks and shirtless men, doing 60 push-ups, as punishment during the police operation called "Oplan RODY", an acronym for Rid the Streets of Drinkers and Youths at Paranaque police headquarters.

06 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017ASIA

New Delhi

AFP

A COURT convicted 31 work-ers yesterday over an outburst of deadly violence at a car plant in 2012, includ-ing 13 for murder.

The court cleared 117 accused who were facing charges of murder and rioting after workers clashed with managers over wages and appointments at Maruti Suzuki factory in Manesar.

The Gurgaon court found 13 workers guilty of murder-ing Awanish Kumar Dev, whose charred body was found in a building following the riots. Dev, who was a human resources manager, died after he failed to escape a blaze started by workers.

31 convicted for murder at Indian car plant

Mallya tweets 'ready for talks with banks'

Kathmandu

IANS

Nepal yesterday handed over a "diplomatic note" to Indian authorities over

alleged killing on Thursday of a Nepali citizen by India's border security guards, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

According to the Nepali side, Napal citizen Govinda Gautam died when SSB personnel opened fire at the Nepal-India border on Thursday following a dispute over construction of a culvert in No-man's Land.

Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi summoned Deputy Chief of Mission in Indian Embassy Binaya Kumar and handed over "diplomatic note", stating Nepal government con-demned the incident and called for a probe, Nepal's Foreign Min-

ister's Office said in a statement.A diplomatic spat has

erupted following the incident, as top political leadership in Nepal and India held several diplomatic parleys on Thursday and yesterdayafter CPN (Maoist

Center), the ruling ally, and other political parties held protests against the killing.

Similarly, after the meeting between Foreign Secretary Bairagi and Kumar, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said

Kumar conveyed his condo-lences over the incident.

He informed Bairagi of Inia's decision to initiate an inquiry into the incident at the border touching Lakhimpur Kheri district of India and Kan-chanpur districts of Nepal, and requested Nepalese govern-ment to share autopsy and forensic reports to facilitate the inquiry process.

Nepal has declared Gautam a "martyr", will provide Rs 1m as compensation to his family, conduct Gautam's cremation with full state honours, and provide free education to his children, Home Minister Bimal-endra Nidhi announced.

India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also called up Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' to express his grief over the death of Gautam.

Nepal urges India to probe citizen's death

Nepalese students affiliated to All Nepal National Free Students Union protest near the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, yesterday against killing of Nepali citizen.

New Delhi, Lucknow

IANS

The stage is set for counting of votes today to wrap up a staggered poll process in five states — the big-

gest electoral contest ahead of 2019 general elections — in what is largely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation move.

The early trends will start pouring in from 8 am for all the five states —Uttar Pradesh, Utta-rakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa —where thousands of cen-tral forces have been deployed at vote counting centres.

Stakes in Uttar Pradesh, politically the most significant state in India, are high not only for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance.

The Congress is also eying power in Punjab and Goa and hopes to retain Uttarakhand and Manipur. The fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also hop-ing to form governments in Goa and Punjab — which would mark its first electoral success outside Delhi.

The poll panel has set up 78 counting centres across 75 dis-tricts in Uttar Pradesh which has a 403-member assembly.

Exit polls have predicted a hung Uttar Pradesh assembly with a possibility of the BJP emerging as single largest party. It has also been predicted to be at top in Uttarakhand and Goa.

Any electoral success,

especially in Uttar Pradesh, will boost the BJP and reaffirm Prime Minster Narendra Modi's popu-larity and bold decision of spiking high value notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 that caused an unprecedented currency crunch in the country.

In Uttarakhand, the poll panel has set 15 counting cen-tres. Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who faced an all-round attack from the BJP and many of his old associates who switched to the saffron camp ahead of the polls in February, exuded confidence of winning the elections again.

"Based on the work done by the Congress government, we are going to form the govern-ment again," Rawat said.

Rawat predicted a "mini-mum of 45 seats" for the Congress in the 70-member house.

The opposition BJP, which got

31 seats against 32 for Congress in the 2012 elections, is enthusiastic about its performance.

In Punjab, votes will be counted at 54 centres.

Exit polls have indicated a rout for the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Punjab, with most projecting single-digit seats for the ruling combine.

While some surveys put the Congress and AAP in a neck-and-neck finish, one survey each gave a clear majority to AAP and the Congress respectively.

In Goa, votes will be counted at two centres in North and South Goa to declare the win-ners in 40 seats.

A majority of exit polls pro-jections said the ruling BJP will emerge the winner or as single-largest party in the state assembly.

In Manipur, counting of votes will be held for 60 seats.

In the Congress-ruled state, the BJP is expected to win 25 to 35 in the 60-member house, according to exit vote surveys. The Congress may finish second with 17 to 25 seats.

Preparations in Uttar Pradesh have been completed, an Election Commission (EC) said yesterday.

Earlier in the day, Chief Elec-toral Officer T Venkatesh interacted with all District Mag-istrates and district police chiefs through video conferencing to ensure the preparedness of the administrative machinery.

Venkatesh directed all Dis-trict Returning Officers to ensure that all preparations are in place

at all the 78 counting centres. Postal ballots will be counted first and then the electronic vot-ing machines (EVMs) will be taken to the counting centers.

Mobile phones have been banned inside the counting cen-tres and information about developments will be given to journalists only at the media centres made at all counting centres.

A total of 4,853 contestants tried their luck in state assembly elections. Of the total contestants, 4,370 were men and 482 women. This time one member of the

third-gender also joined the fray — in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The maximum number of candidates — 403 — were fielded by Bahujan Samaj Party followed by BJP 384, Samajwadi Party 311, Congress 114, Rashtriya Lok Dal 277, Lok Dal 81, Peace Party 68, Communist Party of India (CPI) 68 and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) 26.

A total of 1,462 Independents also contested the keenly fought elections this time.

Polling was held in the state in seven phases spread from February 11 to March 8.

New Delhi

IANS

THE Rajya Sabha yesterday passed by a voice vote the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, after all opposition members present in the Upper House walked out in protest one after the other.

The Lok Sabha passed the bill in March last year. The bill amends the Enemy Property Act, 1968, to vest all rights, titles and interests over enemy property in the custodian and declares transfer of property by the enemy as void.

This applies retrospec-tively to all transfers that have occurred after the Act was passed.

One of the controversial provisions of the bill is that it amends the definition of "enemy" and "enemy subject" to include the legal heir(s) or successor(s) of the enemy, even if the latter is a citizen of India or a non-enemy country.

According to the new bill, the law of succession will not apply to the legal heir(s) or successor(s) of the enemy.

The bill also prohibits civil courts and other authorities from entertaining disputes related to enemy property.

When the bill was taken up, the opposition benches were virtually vacant as attendance is usually thin on Fridays. Besides, it being the weekend before Holi, many members might have left for their homes.

New Delhi

IANS

The Congress yesterday brushed aside the exit polls, saying those who

do not take lessons from history are condemned to repeat its errors, and cited examples of exit polls after 2009 general elections and Bihar polls in 2015. The party also said no matter which party would win on in different states, it would be a victory of democracy, though it maintained that it was "confident of victory in all states". "Whoever wins tomorrow (Saturday) in the different states, it will be a

victory for democracy, it will be a victory for voters...and a victory of India," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi while briefing media persons in Parliament complex.

"In Bihar less than two years ago, most exit polls gave the alliance 110-115 seats. We got over 180 in the alliance. In Tamil Nadu, pollsters again got it completely wrong," he added.

Singhvi also said: "We are supremely, strongly and comprehensively confident of victory in each of the states on our own and in Uttar Pradesh in the form of alliance."

New Delhi

IANS

Embattled businessman Vijay Mallya yesterday offered to negotiate with

banks for a one-time settlement of dues and sought the Supreme Court's intervention.

"Public sector banks have policies for one-time settle-ments. Hundreds of borrowers have settled. Why should this be denied to us? Our substan-tial offer before the Supreme Court was rejected by banks without consideration. (I) Am ready to talk settlement on fair basis," tweeted Mallya.

Mallya's renewed offer through a series of tweets came a day after the consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) told the apex court that "he had taken it for a ride" and urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against him for "wil-fully" breaching its orders.

In response to the consor-tium's charge, Mallya tweeted: "Wish the Supreme Court would intervene and put an end to all this by directing banks and us to negotiate and settle. We are ready."

On Thursday, the apex court asked Mallya about "truthfulness" of his disclosure of assets and alleged transfer of $40m (Rs 267 crore) to his children in complete violation of Karnataka High Court order.

On Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's charge that Mallya had been mocking Indian judi-cial system, and had taken the Supreme Court "for a ride", the tycoon said the allegations proved attitude of the govern-ment against him.

"I have humbly obeyed every single court order with-out exception. Seems as if government is bent upon hold-ing me guilty without fair trial," said Mallya in another tweet.

India: All eyes on poll results todayStakes high in UP

Stakes in Uttar Pradesh, politically the most significant state in India, are high not only for the BJP but also for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance.

Congress is also eying power in Punjab and Goa and hopes to retain Uttarakhand and Manipur.

Congress confident of victory in all states

Rajya Sabha passes Enemy Property Bill

A disabled girl reacts as coloured powder is applied on her face during Holi, the festival of colours, celebrations in Mumbai, yesterday.

Festivity fun

Beijing

Reuters

China will step up patrols and ensure it has a “first class” navy equipped

with the best armaments, sen-ior military officers told the official Xinhua news agency, as China steps up its ability to project power far from its shores.

China’s navy has been tak-ing an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking com-mand, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Tai-wan and new Chinese warships popping up in far-flung places.

With President Donald Trump promising a US ship-building spree and unnerving

Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the US Navy.

Wang Weiming, deputy chief of staff of the People’s Lib-eration Army Navy, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament that China is speeding up the devel-opment of a marine corps, adding destroyers and frigates and will step up air and sea patrols.

“We will intercept any intruding aircraft and follow every military vessel in areas under our responsibility,” Wang said. “Our sailors should stay vigilant and be able to deal with emergencies at all times.”

China to step up patrols to create first class navy

07SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 EUROPE

Berlin

Reuters

Tens of thousands of pas-sengers were stranded in Berlin yesterday as a strike

by ground staff led to the can-cellation of nearly 700 flights operated by airlines including Air Berlin, Ryanair and Lufthansa.

Berlin Airport, which oper-ates Tegel and Schoenefeld airports, said almost all flights from the German capital had been grounded, with 466 flights cancelled at Tegel and 204 at

Schoenefeld as of 0900 GMT.The strike by ground staff,

who want an increase in their hourly pay to ¤12 from ¤11, is due to run for 25 hours from 0400 local time (0300 GMT) yesterday.

Enrico Ruemker, strike leader at trade union Verdi, said that workers were ready to take further strike action if they did not receive a “reasonable” offer, although the union remained open to talks at any time. The industrial action comes as many trade visitors try to make their way home from the world’s

biggest tourism trade fair, the ITB, which ends in Berlin on March 12.

Some delegates left the trade fair early to avoid the strike while others said they faced long train journeys or detours to other German airports such as Hamburg or Dresden. Air Ber-lin said it had cancelled 202 flights, with only long-haul routes and flights to and from Duesseldorf still operating. It offered passengers vouchers for train tickets to their German destinations or flights from Hanover.

Brussels

AFP

EU leaders clashed yes-terday over plans to build unity in the wake of Brexit, a day after a row with Poland over

Donald Tusk's re-election as the bloc's president underscored deep divisions.

European heavyweights Germany and France backed a "multi-speed" Europe after Brit-ain's divorce with the union.

But Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said she would never back such a plan, which is also opposed by some eastern European states that fear being left behind.

The 27 EU leaders -- with-out British Prime Minister Theresa May -- struggled to draft a declaration that is to be unveiled at a March 25 summit in Rome to mark the EU's 60th birthday.

"The motto is that we are united in diversity," Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the talks in describing what message would carry the day in Rome.

Leaders have stressed the need to pull together as the European Union comes to terms

with Britain's seismic decision to leave the bloc. The EU 27 will "work together to promote the common good on the under-standing that some of us can move closer, further and faster in some areas, keeping the door open to those who want to join later," said a draft of the Rome proposals.

The wording clearly priori-tises a "multi-speed" Europe and drew ire from countries like Poland who are loath to see EU heavyweights go it alone, but

also fear for the large subsidies they get from Brussels.

"We disagree with any talk of a multi-speed Europe," said Polish Prime Minister Beata Szy-dlo a day after fighting her EU leader counterparts over Tusk.

Szydlo singled out outgoing French President Francois Hol-lande for criticism, accusing him of trying to "blackmail" Poland at the summit."Am I supposed to take seriously the blackmail of a president who has a four percent approval rating and who soon won't be president?" she said, without giving further details of what Hollande had done. Tusk, a former Polish pre-mier, backed the drive for unity but also cautioned: "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together."

The struggle to forge a more unified future for Europe was overshadowed by the clash with Poland over Tusk's re-election as head of the European Coun-cil, which groups the bloc's political leaders. Most of the 28 leaders who gathered -- Britain still being present then -- had hoped to push through Tusk's re-election with a minimum of fuss so they could concentrate on the bloc's future.

EU leaders split on post-Brexit Europe

Brussels

AFP

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker yes-terday voiced hope that

Britain will one day return to the EU fold despite voting to leave.

"I do not like Brexit because I would like to be in the same boat as the British. The day will come when the British will

re-enter the boat, I hope," Juncker said after a meeting of the remaining 27 EU leaders on the bloc's post-Brexit future.

Juncker, who says he regrets but respects Britain's decision, is a committed European who favours closer EU integration, if necessary allowing some mem-ber states to take the lead while the others catch up later if they wish. Others, notably newer

member states in eastern Europe such as Poland and Hungary, oppose this "multi-speed" approach for fear of being left behind.

Juncker told a press confer-ence after the meeting of the 27 leaders that Brexit was not the end of the European Union and had in fact given it fresh purpose. "I regret Brexit but it is not the end."

Officials meeting on the second day of a European Summit at the Europa Building at the EU headquarters in Brussels, yesterday.

Britain will 're-enter the boat': Juncker

Multi-speed plan

European heavyweights Germany and France backed a "multi-speed" Europe after Britain's divorce with the union.

But Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said she would never back such a plan, which is also opposed by some eastern European states that fear being left behind.

Vehicles and a plane of Air Berlin are parked during a wage strike of ground staff at Berlin's Tegel airport, yesterday.

Strike strands air travellers in Berlin

Düsseldorf

AFP

German police said yester-day an axe-wielding attacker who wounded

nine people in a bloody rampage at a railway station was mentally ill and may have hoped police would shoot him dead.

The 36-year-old Kosovan national had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of high anxiety and self-harm, police said, ruling out a terrorist motive.

Instead, they suggested he might have carried out the attack at the main railway station in western city Duesseldorf fully prepared to end his own life. The suspect was taken into custody after jumping off a bridge and was being treated in hospital with fractures and other injuries. News site Spiegel Online iden-tified him as Fatmir H., and

police said he had come to Ger-many in 2009 and had received residency rights "for humanitar-ian reasons".

The man sparked panic when he got off a commuter train in Duesseldorf around 2000 GMT Thursday and began swinging an axe at passengers, hitting his first victim from behind. "We were on the plat-form waiting for the train," an unnamed witness told Bild daily. "The train arrived and suddenly someone with an axe came out and started attacking people. " T h e r e w a s b l o o d everywhere."

The attacker tried to re-enter the carriage but the train driver locked the doors, protecting the terrified passengers inside who looked on as he beat the win-dows with his fists. Police commandos with automatic weapons, body armour and balaclavas rushed to the station,

backed by police helicopters, amid fears it was a terrorist attack and initial false reports of multiple assailants.With screams echoing around the station

concourse and the wounded bleeding on the ground, police chased the man along railway tracks until he leapt off a four-metre (13-foot) bridge.

Geneva

AFP

Swiss police blocked a rally yesterday supporting a referendum in Turkey,

amid uncertainty over whether the Turkish foreign minister would be allowed to host a sim-ilar event planned for Zurich this weekend.

"Police in the canton of Argau have blocked the meet-ing," police spokesman Samuel Helbling said, citing security concerns.

The rally featuring Hursit Yildirim, the Vice-President of the Istanbul chapter of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), had initially been scheduled to take place in Zurich yesterday evening.

Organisers were pressed to change the venue and announced that it would take place at the Swiss headquarters of the Union of European Turk-ish Democrats in Spreitenbach in the northern canton of Argau.

But Argau police have blocked that event as well. The moves came as several local authorities in Germany espe-cially, but also elsewhere in Europe, have attempted to

block public appearances by Turkish ministers to drum up support for a high-stakes ref-erendum next month, aimed at boosting the powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish officials have repeatedly hit back, with Erdogan angrily comparing Germany's actions to "Nazi practices". The Swiss canton of Zurich earlier this week asked the federal government to can-cel a weekend visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavu-soglu, who also planned to host a pro-referendum rally.

Bern rejected that request, but the Hilton hotel near the Zurich airport, where Cavu-soglu had been scheduled to speak, said it would not allow the event to go ahead there out of concern for the safety of its guests.

It remained unclear if he would find an alternate venue for Sunday's rally.

Planned rallies featuring Cavusoglu have also been blocked in Germany, and the Netherlands has said it would not facilitate a scheduled visit by Cavusoglu to the country on Saturday.

Paris

AFP

The Paris region has passed a new rule obliging labourers on public build-

ing sites to use French, copying action taken elsewhere in France to squeeze out foreign workers.

The Ile de France region passed a "Small Business Act" yesterday aimed at funnelling more local public contracts to small French businesses.

It includes a so-called Moliere clause which will oblige firms working on publicly-funded building projects, or in other areas such as transport or training, to use French as their working language.

"This clause is necessary and targets foreign companies who come with their teams,

without any of them speaking French. These companies need to improve," vice president of the region Jerome Chartier said afterwards.

The French government has long criticised EU rules that allow companies to bring in much cheaper foreign workers temporarily, often from east-ern Europe, who undercut locals. EU rules on public pro-curement prevent states from discriminating against compa-nies from another European country uniquely on the grounds of their nationality.

Opponents to the Moliere clause, named after the 17th century French playwright, point out that it will disadvan-tage newly arrived foreigners living in France who are able to integrate via the workplace and learn French.

Madrid

AFP

A German man has been sentenced to more than 13 years in jail for

running a pyramid scheme that swindled ¤350m from over 180,000 investors in Europe, the United States and Latin America.

Spain's National Court found German Cardona Soler, 46, dubbed the "mini-Mad-off" in reference to jailed US conman Bernard L. Madoff, guilty of fraud, money laun-dering, document falsification and criminal association, according to a ruling pub-lished yesterday. Cordona's company, Finanzas Forex, offered returns of as much as 10-20 percent monthly for investments in currencies and instead used the money to buy real estate for himself and colleagues. He was arrested in 2011 in the Medi-terranean city of Valencia along with two others. The court said only five percent of the money was invested in currencies.

Axeman wounds 9 in German station rampage

Staff members inside Dusseldorf train station yesterday after a man attacked several people at the train station.

Swiss blocks rally backing referendum in Turkey

Court jails German for fraud scheme

Paris region orders French spoken on building sites

08 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017VIEWS

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I do not like Brexit because I would like to be in the same boat as the British. The day will come when the British will re-enter the boat, I hope.

Jean-Claude JunckerEuropean Commission head

This was not supposed to happen in South Korea. It was too divided, too corrupt, too much in thrall to the rich and powerful who’d always had their way.

Four months ago, the idea that the coun-try’s leader, along with the cream of South Korean business and politics, would be knocked from command after sustained, massive, peaceful protests would have been ludicrous.

Now Park Geun-hye, thanks to a court ruling Friday, is no longer president and may very well face criminal extortion and other charges. The head of the country’s biggest company, Samsung, sits in jail, when he’s not in a courtroom facing trial for bribery and embezzlement linked to the corruption scan-dal that felled Park. And a Who’s Who of once untouchables languishes behind bars waiting for their day in court.

This swift upending of the status quo has so shaken the country’s foundations that it has left people here a bit stunned.

Now comes the hard part.South Koreans will look to take their

peaceful revolution — and the genuine sense of empowerment that many of the average citizens who took to the streets in protest, week after week, now feel at their accom-plishment — and turn it into lasting progress.

Among the first of the many big, uneasy questions that linger over this enterprise: What happens next?

In the short term, at least, the answer is more politics, and of the lightning-quick vari-ety. Half a dozen or so candidates will now scramble, over the next two months, for a shot at becoming the next president of South Korea. Elections will likely come May 9.

The current smart money is on a liberal — Moon Jae-in, who lost to Park in 2012 and who now leads in early polls — but conserva-tives, though in disarray and currently viewed as toxic by many South Koreans of all political stripes, still have strong bastions of support in the country’s south, if a charismatic candidate arises.

The qualities of the next leader will help answer another fundamental question: Will the confidence that many won from South Korea’s version of “people power” last?

South Korea is no stranger to rapid, intense change. The country whiplashed from Japan’s colonization to total war in the 1950s, to an economic “miracle” of rebuilding sup-ported by a brutal dictatorship, to one of the world’s most successful democracies.

Just below the surface have always lurked deep social and political divisions — between conservative and liberal, rich and poor, men and women. The entrenched elite often seemed to just chug along, untouched. If they did topple from power or privilege, it was because of violent change, when the streets filled with tear gas and riots, not as in past months, singing, smiling families of all social classes and political backgrounds.

Upending of status quo shakes South Korea

South Korean demonstrators holding up red banners reading “Park Geun-Hye impeachment, candlelight victory!” during a rally demanding arrest of the impeached-president, in Seoul, yesterday.

Foster Klug AP

Park’s fall may have shattered that pattern.

Among the changes: an energized citizenry who can now point to concrete proof that they can make a real differ-ence when they’re united, and an eagerness among civic groups to build on their ability to turn popular anger into peaceful protests that actually worked.

There’s no guarantee that any of this will last.

“Now is a critical transition moment,” said John Delury, an Asia expert at Yonsei University in Seoul. “Starting tomorrow, the question is, where does all this energy go? The uni-fying factor was a focus on getting rid of a problem. Now, they have to figure out, how do you turn that energy into some-thing more constructive than destructive?”

If Moon, the leading liberal candi-date, wins the presidency, one big

change could be North Korea.

Moon was an aide in the 2000s to late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun who pursued the

so-called Sunshine Policy. This rap-prochement effort with the North included big trade and cultural exchanges, and was criticized, and later scrapped, by conservatives because Pyongyang was simultaneously expand-ing its nuclear weapons and missiles programs.

Moon as president would push for more dialogue with the North and would likely reopen an industrial park in the North that was jointly run by the Koreas before Park closed it last year following a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch by Pyongyang.

The reaction to this possible new approach from conservatives in Japan and the United States, and, indeed, from the numerous South Koreans who dis-trust Pyongyang, will be just one of many unknowns that will play out as South Korea enters this new political realm. Whoever leads will have an unu-sually strong mandate in what has typically been a starkly divided country.

For this momentum to last, South Koreans may have to resist a natural urge to relax, to bask.

One conservative newspaper, the Herald Business, likened what South Koreans have just gone through to the chaos at the end of World War II, when the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japanese rule and then divided by US and Soviet forces. The paper suggested in a Friday editorial that people should “calmly return to their daily lives.”

The next months will see if a newly inspired public, fresh off of flooding the nation’s streets until their leaders acted, embrace that advice.

The qualities of the next leader will help answer another fundamental question: Will the confidence that many won from South Korea’s version of “people power” last?

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

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

msalim@pen.com.qa

South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s four years in office have come to an abrupt end with a dramatic judgement by a constitutional court yesterday. The

court upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach her over a corruption scandal that could see her face criminal charges. The ruling didn’t plunge the country into a crisis because it didn’t come as a shock, but dealt a huge blow to Park who has steadfastly refused to resign until now.

The corruption scandal Park is involved in has shocked the nation. She is accused of colluding with her friend and a former presidential aide, both of whom are on trial, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. Park is also accused of seeking bribes from the Samsung Group for government favours. Samsung Group leader Jay Y Lee has been accused of bribery in connection with the scandal and is in detention.

Park’s exit is ignominious and tragic because she is the first democratically elected South Korean president to be ejected from office, a blemish that will haunt her all her life and will stick until the notorious record is broken, which looks unlikely because her successors are likely to learn from her experiences. As the country gets busy with the next election, her woes will

intensify as she no longer has immunity and could face criminal charges over bribery and abuse of power.

Park’s exit caps months of political paralysis and turmoil. Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting in Seoul for months to call for her resignation. Reflecting the sense of relief, the Seoul market’s benchmark KOSPI

index and the South Korean won currency rose after the ruling.

The court ruling comes at a time of rising tensions with China and North Korea but that poses no threat. Everybody is waiting for the new leader. Opinion polls show that that Moon Jae-in from the opposition Democratic party of Korea, who lost the 2012 election to Park, is the favourite to win. Interestingly, Moon has called for talks with North Korea compared to Park’s hard line against Pyongyang, and has even promised to “reconsider” Park’s plans to deploy a US missile defence system which drew flak from China.

The court verdict and the events leading to it show the vibrancy and strength of South Korean democracy and the country’s zero tolerance of corruption. The fact that the leader of the country’s most powerful chaebol is facing trial shows that the law is supreme and nobody is above the law.

Park’s exit

President Park Geun-hye has suffered an ignominious exit after a court ruling, but the whole episode shows the vibrancy and strength of South Korea’s democracy.

ED ITOR IAL

09SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 OPINION

instead, the government has obstructed access by these organiza-tions in a variety of ways, as have the rebels, thus resulting in huge pockets of populations -- including tens of thousands of children -- who have received little to no assistance at the height of their need.

The South Sudanese people fought for decades for their independence from a rapacious, discriminatory Sudanese regime. The government of Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum, which seized power in a coup in 1989, regularly attacked the means of food production and used starvation as a weapon against the rebellious South Sudanese populations, just as it is still doing in Darfur and the Nuba Moun-tains in Sudan. This resulted in localized famines and about 2 million South Sudanese deaths during that North-South conflict. Now that the South Sudanese have won independ-ence, the government of Salva Kiir in Juba is using the same destructive strategies that Bashir used against them.

South Sudanese will starve to death by the thousands, maybe by the tens or hundreds of thousands. As the

US troop increase risks tangling in Syria’s war

Rolling around 200 Marines backed with howitzers into northern Syria, the United States is shifting from working quietly behind the scenes in Syria’s conflict, turn-ing instead toward overt displays of US

force in an attempt to shape the fight.The latest deployment widens America’s foot-

print in a highly toxic battlefield, with US credibility and prestige on the line. It also risks drawing troops into a long and costly war with unpredictable outcomes.

The Marines’ deployment, intended to back local forces in the campaign against the Islamic State group, came just days after another intervention. Dozens of Army troops, riding Stryker armoured vehicles waving American flags, drove outside the Syrian town of Manbij in a mission aimed at keeping US allies Turkey and Syrian Kurds from fighting each other and focused instead on the fight against IS.

The latest dispatch brings the number of US boots on the ground in Syria close to more than 700.

The previous troops were quietly sent by the Obama administration to work with local allies against IS; most of them were special forces and advisers, and none brought heavy weapons like artil-lery with them.

But as the fight against IS gears up, so does the US profile. After months of preparations, US-backed Syrian forces are getting closer to launching an all-out assault on the Islamic State group’s de facto capital, Raqqa, in northern Syria. The more robust presence could also reflect a freer hand given to the military by President Donald Trump, whose admin-istration is drawing up plans for a Syria policy which he has vowed will “obliterate” IS.

But the Americans are stepping into a crowded space in northern Syria, where US-backed Kurdish groups, Turkish and Russian troops, Syrian govern-ment forces and Islamic State militants are all within firing range of one another.

That raises a number of concerns:

US officials say the battle for Raqqa will look much like the fight in neighbouring Iraq, where the United States has waged a heavy air campaign and deployed special forces at the front lines to back the Iraqi military, now in a fierce battle to retake the northern city of Mosul from IS. Over the past two years, the US-backed international coalition has spent billions trading and arming the Iraqi military

But Syria is not Iraq.In Syria, US forces do not have a national military

to partner with — unless Washington makes a dra-matic reversal and overtly partners with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Though no decision has been formally announced, the US is likely to partner with the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by Kurds, though it includes some Arab fighters and other eth-nicities. The US-backed group has proved to be the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria, mov-ing in past months to isolate Raqqa and cut off supply lines.

But it is still seen as ill-equipped for the difficult assault on militants entrenched in the city. That could

bring pressure for a greater US role — and a greater risk of confrontations with other players on the ground.

Partnering with the Kurds to take Raqqa could also cause major damage to the US relationship with Nato ally Turkey. Turkey has suggested its own mili-tary and its allied Syria forces should mount the fight, and that US-backed Syrian Kurds should be excluded.

“If the US were to prefer terrorist organizations over Turkey in the fight against IS, that would be their own decision, but that wouldn’t be something we would consent” to, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday.

Yildirim said in an earlier exchange with visiting foreign journalists that ties between the two countries would be significantly undermined, though he wouldn’t specify any steps Turkey — a member of the US-led coalition fighting IS — might take. In the past, Turkey has hinted it could cut off access to Incirlik air base, home to coalition warplanes.

Ankara sees the Syrian Kurds as an extension of its own Kurdish insurgents. Turkish forces and Syrian

Official, UN-declared famines are a rare phe-nomenon. The last one worldwide was six years ago, in Somalia. Famines are declared officially when people have already begun to starve to death. It is the diplomatic equiva-

lent of a seven-alarm fire. That is where the youngest country in the world, South Sudan, finds itself today, as 100,000 face immediate starvation and another 1 mil-lion are on its brink.

The maxim is true that famine does not result from purely natural causes but is usually “man-made.” Such a description, however, avoids any real accountability for those who have caused the crisis. South Sudan’s famine would be more accurately described as “government-made.”

The most immediate cause lies in the tactics used by the South Sudan government and its principal rebel opponent in fighting the current civil war. Government and rebel forces attack civilian targets much more fre-quently than they attack each other. They target the means of survival of civilian populations deemed to be unsupportive. In particular, they raid cattle in areas where cows represent the inherited savings and means of commercial exchange. Massive cattle raids result in complete impoverishment of entire communities and unleash cycles of revenge attacks that poison relations between neighbors and entire ethnic groups. The gov-ernment has also concentrated recent attacks on areas where agricultural production traditionally fed large parts of South Sudan, not only resulting in massive human displacement but also devastating local grain production, which leads to hyperinflation in food prices.

But destroying the means of food production is only one part of the equation that causes famine. If the South Sudan government allowed humanitarian organizations unfettered access to the victims of the attacks, which include approximately 3 million people who have been rendered homeless, then the aid agencies would have been able to prevent a famine from occurring. But

South Sudan’s government-made famine

US forces patrolling on the outskirts of the Syrian town, Manbij, in Al Asaliyah village, Aleppo province.

images of starving babies begin to emerge, hundreds of mil-lions of dollars in relief assistance will be delivered, as long as the South Sudan government follows through on Kiir’s prom-ises to allow unfettered humanitarian access. But if the only response to these images is a humanitarian one, and the structural causes of this famine are not addressed, then this cycle of death will begin again next year, and the year after. Yes, the world must do all it can to treat the symptoms of this emergency, but there is also an opportunity, with increased attention because of the famine, to finally begin to address the root cause of the crisis.

In South Sudan today, war crimes pay. There is no accountability for the atrocities and looting of state resources, or for the famine that results. Billions in U.S. tax-payer dollars have supported peacekeeping forces and humanitarian assistance already, and one peace process after another has tried to break the cycle of violence. But nothing attempts to thwart the driving force of the mayhem: the klep-tocrats who have hijacked the government in Juba for their personal enrichment.

The Sentry, an initiative we recently co-founded, con-ducted an investigation into the wealth accumulated by Kiir and other officials who oversaw a military offensive that contributed to the current famine. We found that immediate family members of these officials enjoy luxurious lifestyles abroad, living in lavish estates while South Sudanese suffer.

There has been no effort to counter the networks that benefit financially and politically from the crisis. The interna-tional community needs to help make war costlier than peace for government and rebel leaders and their interna-tional facilitators. Choking the illicit financial flows of the

kleptocrats is the key point of leverage for peace available to the international community, given the vulnerability of stolen assets that are offshored around the world in the form of houses, cars, busi-nesses and bank accounts. The most promising policy approach would combine creative anti-money laundering measures with targeted sanctions aimed at freezing those willing to com-mit mass atrocities out of the international financial system.

A steep price should be paid for creating fam-ine and benefiting from war. Even while the world responds to the famine, it’s time also to address root causes and make those responsible pay for their crimes.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OFFICETEL: 4455 7741 / 767FAX: +974 4455 7758

MANAGING EDITORTEL: 4462 7505

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORTEL: 4455 7769

LOCAL NEWS SECTION TEL: 4455 7743

BUSINESS NEWS SECTION TEL: 4462 7535

SPORT NEWS SECTION TEL: 4455 7745

ONLINE SECTION TEL: 4462 7501info@pen.com.qa

PUBLIC RELATIONSTEL: 4455 7613pr@pen.com.qa

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENTTEL: 4455 7837 / 780FAX: 4455 7870 adv@pen.com.qa

CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENTTEL: 4455 7857adv@pen.com.qa

SUBSCRIPTION & DISTRIBUTIONTEL: 4455 7809 / 839FAX: 44557819info@tawseelqatar.com

D-RING ROADPOST BOX: 3488DOHA - QATAReditor@pen.com.qa

All thoughts and views expressed in these columns are those of the writers, not of the newspaper.

All correspondence regarding Views and Opinion pages should be mailed to the editorinchief@pen.com.qa

Kurdish fighters have outright bat-tled in northern Syria, where Turkish-backed Syrian forces pushed IS out of a pocket of terri-tory near the border.

The US deployment in Manbij intentionally puts Americans in the middle of that rivalry, hoping to cool it down. The Syrian Demo-cratic Forces retook Manbij from IS control, and Turkey — with its troops nearby — says it won’t allow the town to be under Kurdish con-trol, threatening to move on it. The American presence appears intended to reassure Ankara the Kurds don’t hold the town.

By partnering with the Kurds in the Raqqa assault, the US also risks being seen as entering into an indi-rect alliance with Russia and Assad’s government, which Mos-cow backs. With Russian air support, Assad’s troops and allied forces like Lebanon’s Hezbollah have advanced against IS in north-ern and central Syria. In the Syrian army’s advance against IS troops in Palmyra, the troops were indirectly aided by US airstrikes against the group.

Promising to scale up the war on the Islamic State group, Trump has hinted he would be less averse to an implied alliance with the Rus-sians and perhaps even Assad, which he has described as a better option than the rebels. But even a perceived lean toward Moscow and Damascus could bring a backlash from fiercely anti-Assad factions on the ground, threatening to draw American troops into the wider civil war in Syria.

Zeina Karam AP

A steep price should be paid for creating famine and benefiting from war. Even while the world responds to the famine, it’s time also to address root causes and make those responsible pay for their crimes.

The latest deployment widens America’s footprint in a highly toxic battlefield, with US credibility and prestige on the line. It also risks drawing troops into a long and costly war with unpredictable outcomes.

George Clooney &John PrendergastThe Washington Post

10 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017EUROPE

Amsterdam

AFP

Dutch left-wing political hopeful Jesse Klaver staged one of the largest campaign

rallies seen in The Netherlands in recent times, as political parties scramble for last-minute votes ahead of next week's crunch elections.

Some 5,000 people packed a concert hall in Amsterdam where Klaver -- at 30 the youngest polit-ical party leader ever in the Dutch parliament -- told GreenLeft party supporters he aimed "to give the country the first left-wing govern-ment in 40 years." "We have a unique opportunity as left-wing parties to win this election and to be the biggest," Klaver said to thunderous applause.

"If you're a leftist at heart, give your vote to our party," he added. Some 12.9 million voters will head to the polls next Wednesday for a general election seen as a key lit-mus test of the rise of populist and far-right parties ahead of other national elections in Europe this year. Dutch political observers say the youthful Klaver, who is of Moroccan descent, is the antithe-sis of far-right politician Geert Wilders, who has run his campaign on an anti-immigrant ticket.

Prague

Reuters

Czech President Milos Zeman launched his 2018 re-election bid yesterday, saying he had decided to run

due to his strong public support and because he wanted to offer continuity.

Zeman, who has pushed for better ties with Russia and China and backed Donald Trump in the US presidential race, has been a polarising figure in Czech poli-tics, drawing protests in large cities but rallies in smaller towns where he gets his support.

His first term has been marked by battles with a Social Democrat-led government, snip-ing at reporters, warnings about Muslim immigration to Europe and efforts to improve relations with powers to the east. The 72-year-old vowed to stay out

of debates or campaigning but showed he was unlikely to alter his public comments. He said media attacks had pushed him to run. He also took a question in Russian, repeating his

opposition to European Union sanctions against Moscow. “I will not declare any new programme. My programme is the continuity of performing the presidential task the way it has been done so far,” Zeman said.

“I admit one of the signifi-cant factors in my decision to run was the Czech media. Each of their attacks encouraged me more to run. Thank you, Czech media,” he added.

Zeman had told about 1,000 of his supporters on Thursday that he would seek a second term - news that quickly leaked - before making his decision public on Friday.

A former Social Democrat prime minister, Zeman has been in politics since Soviet-backed communist rule ended in 1989. He won a direct presidential vote in 2013 and remains one of the country’s most popular politi-cians. His only challenger so far

is businessman and writer Michal Horacek, who has launched a campaign with the motto “We can do better”.

While governments run domestic and foreign policy, the president can hold influence over the EU country’s often shaky multi-party cabinets. Zeman has

differed with the current admin-istration over his opposition to EU sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of Crimea in 2014. At Friday’s news confer-ence he answered a question from a Russian journalist asking about criticism of him for being too close to Moscow by joking

- in Russian - that he was seen as an “agent” for many states by his critics. He then reiterated that sanctions should end.

Zeman has helped steer his country towards China and aims to visit both Russia and China this year. He will meet Trump at the White House in April.

Geneva

AFP

Swiss police said yesterday that a shooting by two gun-men at a cafe in the city of

Basel was a targeted killing with no "terrorist" motive.

The assailants dressed in dark clothes burst into Basel's Cafe 56 at around 8:15pm late Thursday and fired several

rounds, according to police in the picturesque city on the Rhine river. The three victims were all Albanian nationals, including two dead aged 28 and 39, while a 24-year-old was seriously injured, police said in a state-ment. A bullet hole pierced one of the cafe's windows. Terror-ism is "excluded" as an element of the crime, which appeared to be a "targeted" attack on the

victims. Locals said Cafe 56 has a checkered past. It "was pre-viously an establishment known for its links to the drug world", one resident told local newspa-per Basler Zeitung.

After the shooting, the gun-men believed to be in their thirties fled towards the train station, police said, adding that initial evidence suggests they are also from eastern Europe.

Milan

Reuters

The editor of Italy’s big-gest-selling financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore and

two former top managers are being investigated by Milan prosecutors for allegedly issuing false corporate state-ments, a judicial source said yesterday.

Tax police are currently searching the headquarters of the newspaper in Milan, the source said, speaking on con-dition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Another seven people, some former managers at the company, were also being probed, some of them for alleged embezzlement, the source said.

Il Sole 24 Ore editor Rob-erto Napoletano did not answer phone calls, mobile phone messages and an email from Reuters seeking comment.

The newspaper was not immediately available to comment. Italy’s business lobby Confindustria, which controls loss-making Sole 24 Ore, said it would assess what actions to take to safeguard Sole’s shareholders.

Moscow

Reuters

Police in Moscow detained prominent anti-Kremlin activist

Ildar Dadin yesterday, less than two weeks after he was released from prison, when he staged a one-man demon-stration outside Russia’s prison service.

Dadin, 34, was freed from a Siberian prison last month after becoming the first per-son to be jailed under new rules that made some forms of non-violent protest a crim-inal offence. He was sentenced to three years in prison - reduced to two and a half on appeal - in Decem-ber 2015 for a series of peaceful one-man protests against the Kremlin. The Supreme Court quashed his conviction on February 22.

Berlin

Reuters

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc retained its lead

over the main centre-left SPD in a poll yesterday, six months ahead of federal elections, but its opponents logged their high-est support in the survey in almost five years.

The conservatives held steady on 34 percent support while the SPD gained 2 percent-age points to 32 percent, the poll by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for broadcaster ZDF showed.

Merkel and SPD chancellor candidate Martin Schulz, who has boosted the party’s fortunes since being nominated in Jan-uary, were neck-and-neck in the personal popularity stakes, with both achieving 44 percent support. In February the same poll had shown 49 percent of Germans wanted Schulz, the

former European Parliament president, to become chancel-lor compared with 38 percent who wanted Merkel to stay in office.

The SPD had for years lagged behind the conservatives but Schulz has reinvigorated the party by campaigning to deal with social justice and revising labour market reforms that were introduced by former SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over a decade ago.

The poll showed the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany down one percent-age point on 9 percent but still on course to enter the national parliament as the third-biggest party.

It put the far-left Linke on 8 percent and the environmen-tal Greens were on 7 percent. The pro-business Free Demo-crats were on 5 percent.

The survey of 1,212 people was carried out from March 7 to March 9.

Dutch left-wing election rally draws thousands

Milos Zeman launches 2018 re-election bid

Czech politics

Zeman has been a polarising figure in Czech politics, drawing protests in large cities but rallies in smaller towns where he gets his support.

The 72-year-old vowed to stay out of debates or campaigning but showed he was unlikely to alter his public comments.

Czech President Milos Zeman announces his decision to run for another term as president during a news conference at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, yesterday.

Police secure the site of a shooting in the city of Basel, north-west Switzerland, yesterday.

Two dead in Swiss cafe shooting

Merkel’s conservatives ahead of SPD in polls

Brussels

AFP

A year after the Brussels bombings, Belgium is more secure but it faces

the threat of battle-hardened jihadi fighters returning home as Islamic State makes its last stand, interior minister Jan Jambon said.

"The question is whether IS will order them to fight to the last man or tell them to go home and cause as much damage as possible," Jambon said in an interview. "We have not seen any sign of a mass exodus so far but I can assure you that every intelligence service in every country is working on it," he said.

Jambon said tighter secu-rity had made Belgium safer than it was when home-grown suicide bombers killed 32 peo-ple at the airport and a metro station on March 22 last year.

Belgium's federal prosecu-tor Frederic Van Leeuw said that the cell that carried out the Brussels bombings, and was involved in the Paris attacks, had got its orders from high up in the IS command.

The carnage in Brussels and in Paris in November 2015

involved "IS fighters carrying out attacks aimed at causing the most casualties possible," he said. However, with European jihadists finding it harder to get to and from Syria and Iraq, "the IS no longer orders but inspires people to carry out attacks," Jambon said.

That is the case for attacks perpetrated in the German cap-ital Berlin in December, the French city of Nice in July and the southern Belgian city of Charleroi in August.

A man shouting God is the greatest attacked two police-women in Charleroi, badly injuring one in the face, before a third officer shot him dead. "I think we're in that phase," said Jambon, a member of the Flem-ish nationalist N-VA party in a coalition government led by Prime Minister Charles Michel, a French-speaking Wallon. He said the intelligence services in Belgium and other countries were exchanging information to check for the possible return of jihadists as IS loses territory to regional forces backed by the US and other powers. Number-ing around 500, Belgium is the European Union's largest per capita source of so-called for-eign jihadist fighters.

Returning fighters a threat: Belgium minister

Russian detains Putin critic after prison release

Italy probes editor at top financial daily

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (centre) embraces a girl as he arrives for a pro-government rally, next to Vice President Tareck El Aissami (left), in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday.

In cheerful mood

11SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 AMERICAS

Los Angeles

AFP

US President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban faced mounting new legal challenges

yesterday as the state of Wash-ington, along with several other states, vowed to block the exec-utive order.

The announcement came one day after Hawaii filed the first suit challenging the con-troversial new directive, which temporarily closes US borders to all refugees and citizens from six mainly-Muslim countries.

Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state was the first to sue over Trump’s initial travel ban that created airport chaos world-wide and was eventually blocked, said at least three other states—Minnesota, New York and Oregon—are expected to join in the new legal battle.

He said his motion calls on the court to apply an existing injunction against the first travel ban issued in January to the new executive order unveiled on Monday.

“My message to President Trump is—not so fast,” Fergu-son told reporters.

“After spending more than a month to fix a broken order

that he rushed out the door, the president’s new order reinstates several of the same provisions and has the same illegal moti-vations as the original,” he said.

“Consequently, we are ask-ing Judge (James) Robart to confirm that the injunction he issued remains in full force and effect as to the reinstated provisions.”

Ferguson said although the revised order was narrower in scope, it still could be chal-lenged on constitutional grounds.

The new order denies US entry to all refugees for 120 days and halts for 90 days the granting of visas to nationals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Soma-lia, Yemen and Sudan. It is due to take effect on March 16.

The first order had also applied to citizens of Iraq but the country was dropped from the new list.

Hawaii filed the first lawsuit over the new ban, saying it remained unconstitutional despite the changes.

“This second executive order is infected with the same legal problems as the first order—u n d e r m i n i n g b e d r o c k constitutional and statutory guar-antees,” said the suit, which was filed on Wednesday in a federal court in Honolulu.

Judge Derrick Watson put the suit on a fast track, scheduling a hearing on whether to impose a national restraining order on March 15, the day before the exec-utive order goes into effect.

The White House cites national security in justifying the

ban, arguing that it needs time to implement “extreme vetting” pro-cedures to keep Islamic militants from entering the country.

It comes amid a broader US crackdown on undocumented immigrants, following on Trump’s campaign promises of mass deportations and to build a wall on the Mexican border.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the orders tough-ening immigration enforcement have driven down illegal entries—as measured by apprehensions at the border—by 40 percent from January to February.

But Trump suffered a major black eye in January when his first attempt to impose travel ban erupted into heart-rending scenes of families being detained and deported at US airports and, eventually, a slap from the courts.

Polls show American public opinion is deeply divided on the issue. Most indicate a slight majority of voters opposed, with strong support among Trump’s political base. Arguments that the ban had caused “irreparable harm” proved crucial in a San Francisco appellate court’s deci-sion to uphold the lower court’s move to block enforcement.

The challenge facing Hawaii will be to show that the ban vio-lates constitutional guarantees against discrimination on the basis of religion.

The White House has modi-fied the latest version of its decree so that it can pass legal muster, stripping away a reference to reli-gion while also explicitly exempting legal permanent res-idents and current visa holders from the ban.

Washington

Reuters

THE US Senate Intelligence Com-mittee voted overwhelmingly in favour of President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, former Republican Senator Dan Coats, sending his nomination to the Senate floor.

The vote, which took place in a closed hearing, was 13-2, the committee said. Democratic Sen-ators Ron Wyden and Kamala Harris were the only two mem-bers to vote no.

Coats must still be confirmed by full Senate to be top US intel-ligence official. The popular former lawmaker is expected to be confirmed easily.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the September 11, 2001, attacks to oversee all 16 US intel-ligence agencies and improve communications among them.

Coats was a member of Senate intelligence panel until he retired from Senate at the end of last year. He pledged during his confirma-tion hearing on February 28 to support a thorough investigation of any Russian effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Wyden, said he voted against his former colleague because he felt the office of Director of National Intelligence had not pro-vided the committee with enough information about how many Americans’ communication records have been subjected to government surveillance.

New York

Reuters

CABLE channel HBO said yesterday it is planning a dramatised TV mini-series about the extraordinary 2016 US presidential, one of the first of several such projects being discussed in Hollywood.

No casting, title or broad-cast date was announced for the HBO project, which comes from the same team that pro-duced the award-winning Game Change film about 2008 election that starred Julianne Moore as then Republican vice-presidential contender Sarah Palin.

The 2016 election cam-paign that saw Republican Donald Trump triumph over Democrat Hillary Clinton was one of the most dramatic in living memory. It is also sub-ject of a TV miniseries treatment being developed by “Zero Dark Thirty” movie screenwriter Mark Boal, the Hollywood Reporter said in February.

A third miniseries project, looking at the behind-the-scenes drama of Trump’s campaign, is also making the rounds in Hollywood, enter-tainment website Deadline reported last month.

The announcement by HBO, a unit of Time Warner, appeared to mark the first of the various ideas to win a commitment from a major broadcaster.

HBO said its series would be based on an upcoming book by political journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann about the campaign. Jay Roach, who directed Emmy-winner “Game Change” will return to direct, and Tom Hanks is one of the executive producers.

Washington

Reuters

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (pictured) has recused himself from

issues related to TransCanada Corp’s application for a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, the State Department said in a letter yesterday to the environ-mental group Greenpeace.

“He has not worked on that matter at the Department of State, and will play no role in the deliberations or ultimate resolution of TransCanada’s application,” said the letter from Katherine McManus, the State Department’s deputy legal adviser.

McManus’ letter came after Greenpeace wrote to officials at the State Department and the Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday, urging Tillerson recuse himself from any deci-sions on the multibillion-dollar pipeline, given his former role as chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp..

Greenpeace argued in its letter that Exxon Mobil would “directly and predictably” ben-efit from the approval of Keystone XL because the firm has investments in Canadian oil sands.

Tillerson recused himself from the matter in early Feb-ruary, McManus wrote.

TransCanada tried for more than five years to build the 1,897-km pipeline, until Presi-dent Barack Obama rejected it in 2015.

TransCanada resubmitted its application for the Keystone project in January, after Obama’s White House succes-sor, Donald Trump, signed an

order smoothing its path.The line is designed to link

existing pipeline networks in Canada and the United States to bring crude from Alberta and North Dakota to refineries in Illinois en route to the Gulf of Mexico.

Exxon has a majority stake in Imperial Oil, a Calgary, Alberta-based company that operates the Kearl oil sands project in northern Alberta.

“Exxon Mobil could bene-fit from the approval of the pipeline if it has specific con-tracts or agreements with TransCanada either to trans-port their Canadian tar sands production, or to receive such shipments at their US refiner-ies,” Greenpeace wrote in its letter on Wednesday.

Tillerson wrote in a Janu-ary letter to McManus that for one year after his resignation from Exxon Mobil, he “will not participate personally and sub-stantially in any particular matter involving specific par-ties in which I know that Exxon Mobil is a party or represents a party, unless I am first author-ized to participate.”

Washington

Reuters

FBI Director James Comey yesterday met with senior congressional leaders,

including the intelligence com-mittee chiefs, FBI and congressional officials said.

The officials declined to dis-cuss subject of Comey’s meeting with the group of leaders known as “Gang of Eight”. US President Donald Trump has alleged that the Obama administration wire-tapped his election campaign.

The Gang of Eight, who have routine access to highly classi-fied materials, include House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and its

top Democrat, Adam Schiff.Senate members include

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the top Republican and Dem-ocrat on the intelligence committee, Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner.

The House intelligence com-mittee asked Justice Department in a letter for copies of documents which if they exist could shed light on Trump’s allegation.

A law enforcement source said the FBI was in discussions with the National Security Divi-sion of the Justice Department as to how to respond to public and congressional inquiries about the existence or non-existence of such eavesdropping.

If Trump’s campaign or advisers were indeed being

wiretapped, the most likely legal path for Obama administration to do so would be to have Jus-tice Department ask the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for permission to eavesdrop.

Trump accused Obama of wiretapping him during the campaign, but offered no evi-dence for an allegation which an Obama spokesman said was “simply false”.

The intelligence committee’s letter, addressed to Dana Boente, the acting Deputy US Attorney General, also asks for copies of any such orders actu-ally issued by the court and any electronic surveillance warrants related to Trump or his associ-ates issued last year by a federal judge or magistrate under a wide-ranging anti-crime law.

HBO plans series on Trump-Clinton poll campaign

Revised travel ban heads to court again

School executive director and founder, Ricardo Mireles, addresses a workshop for immigrants to make a preparedness plan, in case they are confronted by immigration officials, at Academia Avance Charter School, near Los Angeles, yesterday.

Senate panel approves Trump intelligence nominee Coats

Tillerson recuses himself from pipeline issue

Wiretapping: Comey meets top US congressional leaders

Legal battle

Washington, Minnesota, New York and Oregon are expected to join in the new legal battle.

Hawaii filed the first lawsuit over the new ban, saying it remained unconstitutional despite the changes.

No relief in sight

Officials said it will be days before customers in some stricken areas get their power back on, because an approaching cold front is expected to bring snow, more high winds and temperatures plummeting.

12 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017AMERICAS

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accepts the CERAWeek Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award from IHS Markit Vice-Chairman Daniel Yergin at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, yesterday.

Honour for Canada PM

System blamed

This is a rigid system that has become insensitive, said President Jimmy Morales, adding there are 1,500 children in government facilities across Guatemala, the vast majority of whom have families. Morales called for the system to be decentralised.

Guatemala City

AP

Guatemala’s president called for a restruc-turing of his country’s youth shel-ter system following

a fire that killed at least 36 girls at an overcrowded government facility for children, while griev-ing families began receiving the bodies of their loved ones.

The shelter outside Guatemala City held some 800 children and mixed victims of abuse with youthful offenders. Relatives and officials said the blaze began when youths set fire to mattresses to protest abuses at the Virgin of the Assumption Safe House.

The flames swept through the female section of the facility where some of the girls had been locked inside a dormitory after an escape attempt.

“This is a rigid system that has become insensitive,” said President Jimmy Morales, add-ing that there are 1,500 children in government facilities across

Guatemala, the vast majority of whom have families.

Morales called for the system to be decentralised. Despite his promises of change, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the seat of government calling for the president’s resignation.

Yesterday, in a low-income neighbourhood on outskirts of Guatemala’s capital, relatives and friends gathered for wake of 14-year-old Madelyn Patricia Her-nandez Hernandez.

A wooden casket swathed in white silk and flanked by tall candles sat inside family’s home. A picture of Madelyn stood between purple flowers.

Madelyn had been orphaned since gang members killed her mother for not paying extortion when she was three-years-old, said her grandmother, Maria Antonia Garcia.

Madelyn was expected to get out of the shelter on March 30, Garcia said. However, a judge did not want to return her to custody of her 73-year-old grandmother because of her age. Garcia said Madelyn had complained that she and other girls were beaten.

“She never told me who beat them,” the grandmother said, demanding justice from author-ities. “If there isn’t justice now, they are going to keep doing the same. It’s going to happen again.”

Nineteen girls died at the scene of the fire and another 17 later succumbed to their injuries in area hospitals.

Geovany Castillo said his 15-year-old daughter Kimberly

suffered burns on her face, arms and hands but survived. She was in a locked area where girls who took part in escape attempt had been placed, he said.

“My daughter said the area was locked and several girls broke down a door, and she sur-vived because she put a wet sheet over herself,” Castillo said.

“She said girls told her they had been abused and in protest they escaped, and to protest, to get attention, they set fire to the mat-tresses,” he said.

Newark, New Jersey

AP

A man who entered the US illegally more than 25 years ago received a

60-day extension yesterday to seek a stay of deportation after several dozen members of the clergy and a US senator showed their support by marching to a federal building in Newark, New Jersey.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Arch-bishop of Newark, New Jersey’s largest Roman Catholic archdio-cese, and New Jersey US Senator Bob Menendez were among those who rallied in support of Catalino Guerrero yesterday.

Organisers said the 59-year-old Guerrero came to the US

illegally from Mexico in 1991 and has worked ever since, owns his house and has no criminal record. The grandfather of four applied for a work permit sev-eral years ago, but filled out a form incorrectly, they said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials sum-moned Guerrero last month and told him to plan to surrender his passport on March 10, Guerre-ro’s supporters said this week. He was seeking a year stay of removal, but that request was denied yesterday.

An ICE spokesman said in an email on Thursday that Guerrero, “a Mexican national unlawfully present, was ordered removed from the US in 2009 by an immi-gration judge. Guerrero remains

free from custody and must peri-odically report to ICE as a condition of his release.”

Tobin has been critical of President Donald Trump’s immi-gration policies. Last month, he called Trump’s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries “misbegotten” and said it was “playing on irrational fears of people.”

Tobin said lawmakers should focus on fixing immigra-tion laws rather than on large-scale deportation.

The US Conference of Cath-olic Bishops has issued a steady stream of criticisms of Trump’s restrictions on refugees and immigrants. Through Catholic Charities and other programs,

American bishops consistently resettle largest number of refu-gees annually in the US and provide support nationwide for immigrants.

Other faith groups are mobi-lizing their congregations to fight Trump’s policies, including a network of 37 Protestant and Orthodox denominations that work with the aid group Church World Service. Hundreds of houses of worship around the country have joined the sanctu-ary movement, which provides support or housing to people facing deportation.

Among others leading protests are US Muslim and Jewish groups, including Union for Reform Juda-ism, the largest American synagogue movement.

Rochester, New York

AP

Crew scrambled yesterday to restore power to more than 200,000 customers

who lost electricity service when hurricane-force winds toppled trees and utility poles across much of western New York.

Officials at three utilities said it will be days before cus-tomers in some stricken areas get their power back on, mak-ing the repair work more urgent because an approaching cold front is expected to bring snow, more high winds and temper-atures plummeting into the 20s and teens.

Early yesterday, National Grid, RG&E and NYSEG reported about 127,000 homes and businesses still without power as a result of windstorm, which tore across the state’s western end.

Most of the outages are in Monroe County, which includes Rochester, officials said.

High winds began hitting the region Wednesday after-noon, knocking out power across from the state’s south-western corner through the Buffalo area to Lake Ontario’s southern shoreline.

The National Weather Serv-ice said a wind gust of 81 mph was recorded at the Rochester airport.

Dozens of school districts from the Buffalo area east to the Finger Lakes region called off classes because they had no electricity.

Around Rochester, the fierce winds tore apart business signs, toppled large trees onto homes, sent utility poles crash-ing across suburban roads and churned up 10- to 14-feet waves on Lake Ontario. Despite all the destruction, no serious injuries were reported, local official told reporters.

Utility and public works crews toiled amid tangles of tree branches, downed wires and fallen poles in the effort to get the lights back on.

“It’s very dangerous. Trees are dangerous in themselves, but when you combine them with the downed utility lines, it really makes you nervous,” David Seeley, supervisor for the town of Irondequoit near Rochester, told Time Warner Cable news.

The National Weather Service said the forecast for the weekend starting today, across western New York calls for bitter cold conditions and lasting into next week, with snow showers and winds gust-ing to 45 mph predicted for some areas near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Lima

AFP

WORKERS at a US-owned copper mine in Peru launched a wage strike yesterday, heightening pressure on the market for the key commod-ity already hit by a similar stoppage in Chile.

Some 1,200 workers downed tools at Cerro Verde mine, majority-owned by Arizona-based Freeport-McMoran, said union spokesman Rommel Arias. The miners are demanding special benefit payments to protect their incomes against a down-turn in copper prices, and better working conditions.

“We have ended discus-sions with the company and no agreement has been reached,” Arias told report-ers. Mining sector consultant Jorge Manco calculates that production at Cerro Verde reached half a million tonnes last year, making it Peru’s biggest copper mine.

Strikes at copper mines have raised concerns on international markets for the metal, a key component in electrical wiring.

Some 2,500 workers at the world’s biggest copper mine, the Escondida site in Chile, have been on strike for a month for higher pay. Ana-lysts said prices were stable despite Chilean strike, since the world’s biggest copper con-sumer, China, is well stocked.

Chicago

Reuters

A commercial flock of 17,000 chickens in Ten-nessee has been culled

after becoming infected with low-pathogenic bird flu, state agricultural officials said yester-day, days after a more dangerous form of the disease killed poul-try in a neighboring county.

Authorities killed and buried chickens at the site in Giles County, Tennessee, “as a precaution” after a case of highly pathogenic flu in Lincoln County led to deaths of

about 73,500 chickens over the weekend, according to Tennes-see Department of Agriculture. It said officials did not believe birds at one premise sickened those at the other.

Highly pathogenic bird flu is often fatal for domesticated poultry and led to deaths of about 50 million birds, mostly egg-laying hens, in the US nited States in 2014 and 2015. Low-pathogenic flu is less serious and can cause coughing, depression and other symptoms in birds.

Highly pathogenic case in Tennessee was first such

infection in a commercial US operation in more than a year and heightened fears among chicken producers that the dis-ease may return.

Spread of highly pathogenic flu could represent a financial blow for poultry operators, such as Tyson Foods Inc and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp, because it would kill more birds or require flocks to be culled. It also would trigger more import bans from other countries, after South Korea, Japan and other nations limited imports because of the case in Lincoln County.

Jack Shere, chief veterinary

officer for US Department of Agriculture, said there was spec-ulation the highly pathogenic virus found in Tennessee shared similar characteristics with a low-pathogenic virus that circu-lated in Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota and Illinois in 2009.

Wild migratory birds can carry the flu without showing symptoms and spread it to poul-try through feces, feathers or other contact.

“This virus can mutate very easily, so low-pathogenic issues are just as important — when they are circulating among the

wild birds - as the high-patho-genic issues,” Shere said.

Both cases in Tennessee were located along the state’s southern border with Alabama, one of the country’s top producers of “broiler” chickens for meat. They also were both in facilities for chickens that bred broiler birds and involved same strain, H7N9, according to Tennessee’s agricul-ture department.

The state said it was testing poultry within a 10-km radius of the Giles County site for the flu and so far had not found any other sick flocks.

Hurricane-force winds leave 200,000 people without electricity

Man facing deportation gets reperive

Peru copper miners launch wage strike

Guatemalan president vows change; fire toll at 36

People take part in a protest at the Square of the Constitution in Guatemala City, yesterday, following death of 36 girls.

Bird flu strikes chicken flock in Tennessee again

13SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 CLASSIFIEDS

SERVICES

Pen.MagTel: 44557857

adv@pen.com.qa

For Advertisements,call:

44557857

ARTECHSage Accounting, Peachtree, QuickBooks, Dynacom,

Tel: +974 44375654 E-mail: artech@ar-technology.net

ACCOUNTING SOFTWARES

GEM ADVERTISING & PUBLICATIONS(Overseas Newspaper Advertisements)

44442001 - GSM: 55783303

ADVERTISING OVERSEAS NEWSPAPER

ATTESTATION

ASIA TRANSLATION & SERVICES CENTRE

SAMA COOL

44433199 55591717 4444 7709 - samacoolqatar@gmail.com

A/C MAINTENANCE & SERVICES

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

AL HAYIKI TRANSLATION & SERVICES EST.

SHEEN SERVICES WLL (www.SheenServices.com)

BUS A/C EQUIPMENT

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

LEADER MIDDLE EAST W.L.L.

+974 55745147

BUSINESS SET-UP

FLORIST

ELECTRONICS

COMPUTER & IT

COMPUTER TRAINING CENTRE

FAMILY COMPUTER CENTRE

44435361/44370779 44449130

APOLLO FURNITURE

44689522 (3 Lines)

FURNITURE

APOLLO ENTERPRISES

44426664 GSM: 55830870/33599574 mlibor@belzona.org

GLASS COATING

GENERAL TRADING SERVICES

IMMIGRATION SERVICES

QUEENS LAND SERVICESBusiness Set-up and Sponsorship.

77776917 info@qlsqatar.com

INVEST IN QATAR

HELPLINE GROUP OF COMPANIES

77711129/44351974/44919213 - www.helplinegroups.com

JEWELLERY

CANARA JEWELLERY

44422071, 44357283

KOTTAKKAL AYURVEDIC MASSAGE CENTRE

44360061 GSM: 33453697

HERBOLIFE MASSAGE (AYURVEDIC)

77521322/44764968

AUTHENTIC THAI MASSAGE CENTERS

MASSAGE

MOVERS

E2E GLOBAL LINES (Q) PACKERS & MOVERS WLL

4451 6688 4468 8631 5599 0644AL MUTWASSIT CLEANING & PEST CONTROL

44367555 44367999 GSM: 55875920/55860432

CAPITAL CLEANING COMPANY W.L.L.

44582257 33189899/ 55565328E-mail: capitalcleaningwll@gmail.com

AL SADEQ CLEANING & CONTRACTING

33020108/33020107E-mail: alsadeq_2000@yahoo.com

14 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017CLASSIFIEDS

SERVICES

Pen.MagEvery Sunday - Thursday

For advertisements, call: 44557857

RENT A CAR UNIFORMS

WATER TANK CLEANING

AL MUTWASSIT CLEANING & PEST CONTROL

443679 99 55875920/55860432

CAPITAL CLEANING COMPANY

55565328/ 33189899 44582257 E-mail: capitalcleaningwll@gmail.com

MANPOWER SERVICES

REGENCY FLEETS

44433822/44554046/44554048 44554047 Airport Branch (24hrs): 70482655

E2E FLEETS - The Complete Transportation Solution

4460 5291/44515568 4460 2176 33199183

AL SULAIMAN RENT A CAR44911711

AL MUFTAH RENT A CAR WLL

NICE RENT A CAR

44413392 55514223 44317896 niceqatar.comsales@niceqatar.com/ rasheed@niceqatar.com

FOR RENT

TRANSLATION SERVICES

HELPLINE

44919213 77711129 www.helplinegroups.com

OASIS RENT A CAR

4413 0011 6641 7354 : 4413 0033

AL DAR CAR RENTAL

44877789 44866637

EUROCAR RENT A CAR CO LLC44660677

Airport: 40108888 66967787/ 55849587

GO RENT A CAR

+974 44325500 44375753 33697075/ 66971703/55241629

AVIS RENT A CAR of

44667744 / 40108887 44657626

COUNTRY RENT A CAR - BARWA AL WAKRA

44154467/44687507 55048720/ 5544042/66995238

RECRUITMENT SERVICES

SECURITY SYSTEM & SOLUTION

SCAFFOLDING

APOLLO ENTERPRISES SCAFFOLDING DIVISION44693334

44416274 55521089/55560246/55536285

MALZAMAT QATAR W.L.L.

44504266 44502489 66715063www.malzamatqatar.com info@malzamatqatar.com, malzamat@gmail.com

QATAR AL ATTIYAH INTERNATIONAL GROUP (QAIG)

AL MUFTAH SERVICES 44634444/44010700 55542067/55823100

APOLLO REAL ESTATE55864352/55506803/ 55872145

44689522

ADAM REAL ESTATE COMPANY

44366932 44366931 55500789 / 55803731

REAL ESTATE

PARTY KINGDOM

44353501/ 44366431 E-mail: partykingdom10doha@yahoo.com

PARTY ITEMS & BALLOON DECORATION

PAINTING & GYPSUM WORK

AL SADEQ PAINTING WORKS

33020108/33020107E-mail: alsadeq_2000@yahoo.com

NEW STATE CLEANING & PEST CONTROL

466517556/55404339

PEST CONTROL

RENT A CAR

BUDGET RENT A CAR

44310411 40108880 -55808638 (24 Hrs)

NATIONAL CAR RENTAL

5547 8150/5547 8151

APOLLO REAL ESTATE

Qatar’s first Real Estate Company under British Management

Call: Office: 44689522, Maureen 55864352Abubakar 55850815, Peter 55506803, Dexter 55872145

www.apollopropertiesonline.com

APOLLO ENTERPRISES44426664

55871914/ 55524897

METAL REPAIRS

CHANGE OF NAME

Staff/Labor Accommodation for rent in Industrial Area, near 31st

Roundabout.17 Rooms with 15 bathrooms, one common

bathroom and 2 large kitchens.Please call: 55550652/33242454

STAFF/LABOR ACCOMMODATION

Location: East Industrial Area, Street No.36Building No. 68 & 70 (Near Ali Bin Ali Logistic)Key features:• Total Area: 2,500 Sqm (2 warehouses inter connected)• 8 Staff Rooms, 8 Bathrooms, 2 Kitchens• Available warehouse of�ce & AC rooms• Civil Defense and Municipality approved for Food Store• Rent amount: QRs.110,000 per month (for 2 warehouses)

Call: 55892049/55338702/55209253

WAREHOUSE FOR RENT

QURAT UN NISA IDREES TARIQ.

Yesterday’s answer

15SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017 BREAK TIME

SHOWING ATVILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

HAGA

R TH

E HO

RRIB

LE

ALL IN THE MIND

ASTRONOMICAL, ATOM, COLOSSAL, DOT, ELEPHANTINE, ENORMOUS, GALACTIC, GARGANTUAN, GIANT, HUGE, IMMENSE, INFINITESIMAL, IOTA, ISOTOPE, JOT, JUMBO, LARGE, LITTLE, MASSIVE, MICROBE, MICROSCOPIC, MINISCULE, MINUTE, MITE, MOLECULE, MONOLITHIC, MONUMENTAL, NEUTRON, NUCLEUS, PARTICLE, PINCH, POINT, PROTON, SCINTILLA, SMALL, SMIDGEN, SPECK, TINY, TREMENDOUS, VAST.

6:00 News

6:30 101 East

7:00 News

7:30 Talk To Al Jazeera

8:30 Rewind

9:00 Witness

10:30 Inside Story

11:00 News

11:30 The Listening Post

12:30 Counting the Cost

13:00 NEWSHOUR

14:30 Inside Story

15:00 Marco Polo: A Very

Modern Journey

16:00 NEWSHOUR

17:00 News

17:30 The Cure

18:00 newsgrid

19:00 News

19:30 People & Power

20:00 News

20:30 Inside Story

21:00 NEWSHOUR

22:00 News

22:30 The Listening Post

23:00 Al Jazeera World

07:12 Close

Encounters

07:37 Close

Encounters

08:50 Food Factory

10:02 Food Factory

10:26 How Do They Do

It?

12:26 Close

Encounters

15:15 Close

Encounters

15:38 Close

Encounters

16:03 Close

Encounters

16:26 Mythbusters

20:30 NASA's

Unexplained

Files

21:20 Sport Science

22:10 How The Earth

Works

23:00 Food Factory

23:25 Food Factory

08:00 Call Of The

Wildman

08:25 Biggest And

Baddest

09:15 Catching

Monsters

10:10 Yankee Jungle

11:05 The Vet Life

15:40 Ten Deadliest

Snakes With

Nigel Marven

16:35 Ten Deadliest

Snakes With

Nigel Marven

17:30 The Beauty Of

Snakes

19:20 Catching

Monsters

20:15 Biggest And

Baddest

21:10 Yankee Jungle

22:05 Treehouse

Masters

23:00 Catching

Monsters

23:55 Gator Boys

11:15 Disney

Cookabout

11:40 Pocahontas

13:10 The 7D

13:20 Stuck In The

Middle

13:45 Stuck In The

Middle

15:25 Jessie

15:50 Jessie

16:40 Austin & Ally

17:05 Descendants

Wicked World

17:35 Stuck In The

Middle

18:00 Gravity Falls

18:25 The Little

Mermaid

19:55 The 7D

20:30 Bizaardvark

20:55 Bunk'd

21:20 Shake It Up

21:45 Dog With A

Blog

22:10 Best Friends

Whenever

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku is a number-

placing puzzle based on a 9×9 grid. The object is to

place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each 3×3 box

contains the same number only once.

CROSSWORD

CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

Yesterday's answer

MALL

LANDMARK

ROYAL PLAZA

ASIAN TOWN

NOVO — Pearl

AL KHOR

ROXY

Angamaly Diaries (2D/Malayalam) 2:00 & 11:00pmGamba (2D/Adventure) 2:30 & 6:45pm Kong: Skull Island (2D/Action) 2:30, 4:45, 7:00, 9:15 & 11:30pm Logan (2D/Drama) 4:15 & 8:30pmBadrinath Ki Dulhania (2D/Hindi) 4:30 & 9:00pmViceroy’s House (2D/Drama) 7:00pm The Devil’s Doll (2D/Horror) 11:30pm

Kong: Skull Island (2D/Action) 2:00, 4:15, 6:30, 8:45 & 11:00pm Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2D/Hindi) 2:00 & 11:00pmGamba (2D/Adventure) 2:15 & 4:30pm Angamaly Diaries (2D/Malayalam) 4:00 & 8:30pmThe Devil’s Doll (2D/Horror) 6:30pm Logan (2D/Drama) 6:30 & 11:00pmViceroy’s House (2D/Drama) 9:00pm

Kong: Skull Island (2D/Action) 2:30, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30 & 11:30pm Gamba (2D/Adventure) 2:30 & 5:00pm Angamaly Diaries (2D/Malayalam) 2:30 & 9:00pm Viceroy’s House (2D/Drama) 4:30pm Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2D/Hindi) 6:30 & 11:15pm Logan (2D/Drama) 7:00 & 11:30pm The Devil’s Doll (2D/Horror) 9:30pm

Munthiri Vallikal (Malayalam) 3:15, 9:00pm & 12:00midnight Badrinath Ki Dulhania 12:30, 5:45 & 10:30pm Fukri (Malayalam) 12:30, 3:30, 6:30pm Aby 12:30, 6:15 & 11:00pm Angamaly Diaries (Malayalam) 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30 & 11:00pm

Kong: Skull Island 10:45am, 1:15, 3:45, 6:15, 8:45 & 11:15pm

Gamba 11:30am, 1:30 & 3:30pm Logan 12:15, 5:45 & 11:15pm

Angamaly Diaries 5:30, 8:15 & 11:00pm

Badrinath Ki Dulhania 3:00 & 8:30pm

Gamba 2:00, 4:15 & 6:30pm Angamaly Diaries 8:15 & 10:45pmBadrinath Ki Dulhania 2:00, 4:50, 7:40 & 10:30pm Kong: Skull Island 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30pm & 12:00midnight Viceroys House 2:00, 4:10, 6:20, 8:30 & 10:50pm

Logan (2D/Action) 10:10am, 12:50, 3:30, 6:10, 6:45, 8:50, 9:25, 11:35pm & 12:10amKong: Skull Island (2D/Action) 10:30, 11:00am, 1:00, 1:15, 1:30, 3:30, 3:45, 4:00, 6:00, 6:15, 6:30, 8:30, 8:45, 9:00, 11:00, 11:15 & 11:25pmGamba (2D/Adventure) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00pmThe Devil’s Doll (2D/Horror) 8:00,10:00pm & 12:00midnight Akher Dek Fe Masr (2D/Arabic) 10:15am, 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30 & 11:45pm Dog Eat Dog (2D/Drama) 10:00am, 2:30, 7:00 & 11:40pm La La Land (2D/Musical) 11:55am, 4:25 & 9:00pmKung Fu Yoga (2D/Action) 10:00am & 12:15pm Fist Fight (2D/Comedy) 2:30 & 6:45pmViceroy’s House (2D/Drama) 2:30, 8:45 & 11:00pm Rock Dog (2D/Animation) 10:45am, 12:45, 2:45 & 4:45pm Kong: Skull Island (3D IMAX/Action) 11:30am, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30pm & 12:00midnight

Katara's iconic sculpture 'Force of Nature II' by Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn' overlooking the amphitheatre in this panoramic view.Pic by: Qassim Rahmatullah / The Peninsula

Iconic sculpture

16 SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017HOME

FAJRSHOROOK

04.32 am

05.48 am

ZUHRASR

11.44 am

03.08 pm

MAGHRIBISHA

05.43 pm

07.13 pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 04:15 - 16:30 LOW TIDE 11:15 - 22:00

Expected poor horizontal visibility at

places at first. Hazy to misty/foggy

at places at first becomes mild day-

time and partly cloudy at times with

chance of light rain at places.

WEATHER TODAY

Minimum Maximum

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

19oC 26oC

The Peninsula

In an attempt to promote the culti-vation of organic products, the Ministry of Municipality and Envi-

ronment has begun to provide expertise to farmers, said a senior official.

“The ministry works to encourage and support farmers to cultivate organic products. It will provide exper-tise advice and the latest resources to farmers,” said Adel Al Kaldhani, Assist-ant Director of Agricultural Affairs Department.

According to him the recently held event at Al Mazroua yard about healthy food under the theme ‘Youth know for better health,’ was one of the occasions at which the ministry helped farmers in the farming of organic products.

“The department helped farmers to sell organic products to people at good prices compared to other

markets. The products were also in a better condition than the ones sold at other places,” said Al Kaldhani.

The two day event aimed at spreading healthy food habits such as the importance of having enough fruits and vegetables. A number of activities were also held to promote and empha-sise the importance of modifying lifestyle. Also healthy meals and organic food products were distrib-uted among the participants.

It was organised in collaboration with Community College of Qatar (CCQ), Al Safwa farms and many offi-cials from the ministry as well as representatives from the college.

“The ministry aims to educate the community about the importance of having healthy food, especially which are free of chemicals,” said Al Kald-hani. “The event also aimed to encourage farmers to cultivate more organic vegetables and fruits. It is the

second year to organise such an event and we are working to develop it and expand in coming years,” he added.

The event also displayed different types of organic products and beyond vegetables and fruits.

Ministry calls on farmers to go organic

The Peninsula

Sidra Medical and Research Center (Sidra) marked Inter-

national Women’s Day 2017 with a ground break-ing event featuring a series of inspiring talks, interna-tional speakers and a lunch hosted in honour of the women working at Sidra.

Sidra’s Chief Learning Officer, Dr Kholode Al Obaidli, who opened the event, said, “We are proud to celebrate the Interna-tional Women's Day with all the remarkable women of Sidra– and wanted to thank them for their ded-ication, skills, hard work, grace and commitment in helping to build and expand our organisation. Through the agenda of inspirational talks and panel sessions, we wanted to inspire them to reach even greater heights of professional development and fulfilment.”

The half day event,

held at the Qatar National Convention Center included:

* Talk about the Gen-der Paradox and why women in the GCC are los-ing out in the workplace despite making significant gains in education. This was presented by Radhika Punshi, the Managing Director and David Jones, the CEO of Talent Enterprise.

* Presentation by Greg Young, CEO of Leader-S h a p e G l o b a l – acknowledging the shift-ing requirements of successful leaders and how

women are naturally equipped to lead 21st cen-tury organizations. Greg also shared practical input on how organizations can help support the develop-ment of leadership skills in women.

* Panel discussion on nursing and its future including challenges and perceptions about the pro-fession in Qatar. The panel was moderated by Sidra’s Chief Nursing Officer Prof. Mary Boyd and included Dr. Badriya Al-Lenjawi, Assistant Executive Direc-tor of Nursing for Professional Development and Qatarisation at HMC; Dr. Deborah White, Dean of Calgary University in Qatar and Morag Gates, the Chief Operating Officer of Sidra who was formerly trained as a registered nurse.

* Inspirational talks from Noof Al Kuwari, Clin-ical Nurse from Sidra’s Pediatric Surgery Clinic and Amal Al Farsi, a healthcare promoter

Sidra marks IWD with events

Officials during a session to promote organic farming.

The Peninsula

A research project by a team of Qatar University (QU) researchers and external

collaborators using the formu-lary inclusion of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in Hamad Med-ical Corporation (HMC) health services will contribute to advancing the health care in Qatar and the region.

Proton pump inhibitors are a group of drugs whose main action is a pronounced and long-lasting reduction of gastric acid produc-tion.The research team developed a comparative evidence-based multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) model to compare first-line use and evaluate the different PPIs that are currently available in the HMC drug formulary.

The model comprised seven main criteria and 38 sub criteria. Main criteria are indication, dos-age frequency, treatment duration, best published evi-dence, available formulations, drug interactions, and pharma-cokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties.

A novel pharmacotherapeu-tic selection scoring model was developed for the ranking of the PPIs by an expert panel. PPIs were sorted with only the enti-ties that score more than 95 percent of the highest scoring PPI getting recommended for formu-lary inclusion. PPIs that score more than 90 percent of the high-est scoring PPI were also considered, but as a non-formu-

lary alternative. The team includes lead prin-

cipal investigator of the project and Associate Professor of Phar-macoeconomics and Outcomes Research at QU College of Phar-macy (CPH) Dr Daoud Al Badriyeh, QU College of Medicine (CMED) Interim Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and HMC Dep-uty Chief of Staff for Graduate Medical Education Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Professor at Faculty of Pharmacy Department of Biop-harmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy in the University of Jordan Dr Ibrahim Alabbadi, HMC former Pharmaceutical Advisor and King’s College Hospital (KCH) Healthcare LLC Pharmacy Con-sultant Dr Michael Fahey, and Aspetar Department of Pharmacy Director Dr Manal Zaidan.

They have completed a study entitled “Multi-indication Phar-macotherapeuthic Multicriteria Decision Analytic Model for the Comparative Formulary Inclu-sion of Proton Pump Inhibitors in Qatar”. The project was funded by NPRP of QNRF.

Dr Al Badriyeh said, “The MCDA modeling is a current hot area of interest in the science of decision making. It reflects real-life practices by relying on a range of clinically relevant crite-ria and indications that a drug can have. Basically fixing the inher-ent limitations associated with the cost-effectiveness evaluations traditionally used by advanced practices throughout the world for the drug selection."

QU research project to promote health care